Stand By You
by marauderluverz
Summary: Ren is struggling to figure out how to propose but after he does Kyoko must adjust to her new life as his fiancee. Along with their new drama and some difficulties with an overattentive co-star, Kyoko is finding everything a bit too stressful. Can she solve these issues without letting anything go astray? 5th in my HoMH series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to the 5th installment in my HoMH series! If you have read all the oother parts, thank you! If not, i hope youll go back and read them so that the story makes sense.**

 **I took a little break so i could get refreshed enough to write this properly and went on a family vacation to Disneyland. Now that im back ill do my very best to update at least once a week. Thank you for reading and i hope youll enjoy this story!**

 **Chapter one here picks up during the epilogue of Picking up the Pieces. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Scheduling Secrets

Sho Fuwa was wandering around in a small shopping area. He had finally had a day off and needed to find somewhere quiet to write his music. The Darumaya proved to be too noisy between the day time cleaning and prep and the night time customers. He had expected to be able to write at LME but it was fairly difficult to get time alone for his work.

In the past Shoko had always let him use her place or he had had Akatoki pay for a hotel for him. But now that wasn't an option. So with his guitar case slung across his back and his disguise of a hat and sunglasses he had ventured to a less populated area in the hopes of finding peace and quiet.

He had not however, expected to find Ren Tsuruga in that small town. But even more shocking was finding him in a jewelry store looking at what appeared to be a ring. He took off his sunglasses.

 _What the hell?_ Sho wondered as he peered in through a side window. _What's that pretty boy doing picking out a ring?_ He watched as Ren handed the ring back to the lady behind the counter and pulled something else out of his pocket. Sho stepped back trying to figure this out.

"Don't jump to conclusions. This really could be just a simple present. It doesn't necessarily mean anything." He tried to tell himself. But he knew the truth of what this probably meant. To confirm his suspicions he waited another ten minutes for Ren to exit the shop.

"Hey, Tsuruga-san!" Sho called out suddenly, startling the actor.

Ren spun and met Sho's eyes. "Fuwa, what're you doing here?" He asked.

Sho smirked. "The more important question is, why are you buying Kyoko a ring?"

Inside, Ren was panicking. He had intended to keep this a secret from everybody until after he proposed and now the one person he definitely didn't want to know, knew. "I'm pretty sure I can buy my girlfriend a ring if I want to." Ren replied forcing a calm voice.

"Are you going to propose to her?" Sho asked seriously. He knew he had no chance with her but he still didn't like the idea of Ren winning.

Ren sighed. There wasn't much point in trying to lie about it. "Yes, I am. But you can't say anything to her." He said firmly.

Sho shrugged. "As if I'd have a reason to do that. She'd probably go off into her magical fairyland about planning a wedding. I'd rather wait and hope you chicken out." Sho turned and began to walk away. "See ya, pretty boy." He called back with a wave.

Ren was relieved that Sho seemed uninterested in spoiling his surprise but then he thought of something and quickly walked after Sho. "Fuwa, wait."

Sho turned around looking annoyed. He had been trying to get away before his true emotions were displayed on his face. "What do you want now?"

"I need help getting in contact with Kyoko's mother."

Sho turned away. "Don't bother." He muttered. His hatred for the woman coming through in his voice. As much as Kyoko had annoyed him and he had wished to defeat her, he had always despised her mother. The woman who had treated Kyoko like nothing and made her cry countless times. _Although, I suppose I'm not much better._ He thought bitterly.

Ren grabbed Sho's shoulder. "I need to ask her for her blessing. We both know it would be important to Kyoko."

Sho was silent for a second before shrugging off Ren's hand. He glared at him. "Fine. I'll get the info from my mom." Sho pulled out his phone and found his home phone in his contacts. He listened as the phone rang, feeling awkward to have Ren listening.

After three rings his mom answered with the name of the inn. "Good morning, how may I help you?" She asked.

"Mom, it's me."

Ren had to admit he was a little curious about what these people were like. After all, they had raised Kyoko.

He watched as Sho scowled. "No, Mom. I already told you I'm not coming back home. I got work again." Sho hissed.

Ren took a few steps away to offer the younger man some privacy. He was curious but didn't want to intrude on Sho's private life. After a couple of minutes, Sho hung up. "Hey, I got the info."

Ren opened the notes on his phone and copied down what Sho told him. As soon as he had finished, Sho turned and started to walk away again. "Fuwa," Ren called, "Thanks."

Sho responded with a wave over his shoulder.

After Sho left, Ren returned to his car. Once seated inside, he dialed the number for Saena's office. The phone rang twice before it was answered by a secretary.

"Good morning," Ren greeted her. "I needed to schedule an appointment with Saena Mogami-san." He explained.

He could hear the sound of a keyboard clicking. "She has an opening this evening for six thirty. Will that work for you?" the secretary asked.

"Yes, that should be fine." He responded, worried about the fact that he would have to try to hide this from Kyoko too.

"Perfect, and may I have your name and the reason for your appointment?"

"Ren Tsuruga, " he replied and heard a small gasp from the young lady, "And I just have an important personal matter to discuss with her."

* * *

When Ren arrived home he found Kyoko sitting on the couch watching television. She looked up when he entered and greeted him with a smile that nearly melted his heart. "Welcome home!" she said cheerfully.

He smiled in return as he sat down on the couch next to her. "How was your morning?" he asked.

"It was nice. I listened to what you said, I took a bath and I didn't clean." She told him proudly.

Ren nodded, "And did you decide where you'd like to eat lunch?"

Kyoko scrunched up her face in thought and Ren couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked. "What about getting hamburger steaks?" she asked, her face colored slightly pink.

Ren chuckled, "That sounds good." He told her happily. To be honest, it would've taken a lot to bring Ren down from the cloud he was currently on. Knowing that he was mere days away from proposing made him feel excited in a way he hadn't felt in quite some time.

The two got ready and soon headed to a nearby diner to eat. After ordering their food, Kyoko took a sip of her iced tea before speaking to Ren. "I forgot to ask you, how was work this morning?"

Ren nearly choked on his water at her sudden question. "Oh," he began once he had stopped coughing. "It was fine. Just usual work." He lied.

Kyoko nodded, but looked uncertain. "It's strange for you to be suddenly called in on a day off, isn't it?" she asked.

Ren could feel himself getting nervous. He'd managed to keep the secret about being Corn for over a year and yet this secret could be out in a matter of hours. As he opened his mouth to answer, he was saved by the arrival of their lunch.

As soon as the waitress left, Kyoko dug into her meal. Ren took advantage of her silence to change the subject. "Are you excited for the read through in next week?" he asked calmly.

At the mention of their new drama, her eyes lit up. She nodded excitedly. "I can't wait to see the full script." She said.

"They've done a good job of keeping most of the details quiet. A lot of people are curious since its our first time acting together like this."

Kyoko felt her stomach flip, she wasn't sure if it was nerves or excitement. She paused her eating and Ren watched her with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked, reaching out to touch her hand.

She gave an over enthusiastic smile. "What? No, nothing. I was just thinking that's all." She lied.

He feigned a hurt expression. "And I thought you said no more secrets." He muttered before taking a bite of his own lunch.

Kyoko stared down at her plate. "I'm just nervous."

Ren's eyes widened. "About acting with me? But we've acted together before."

She shook her head. "Not like this. Now I get to play your love interest. What if I don't do a good enough job and everybody hates it?"

He gave a small smile that she didn't see before leaning over the table and pressing a warm kiss to her forehead. "Please don't worry. You are always amazing. I've thought that since the first time I heard you read lines." He said as he moved back.

Kyoko blushed. "You mean during _Dark Moon_?"

He shook his head. "No, when you were my manager, and you read lines with me. I was very impressed by your talent. And you have never done any less with your acting."

She blushed again and stared down at her food. She muttered a soft thank you before returning to eating.

A few moments later, just as Ren was starting to worry over how he would get away to meet Kyoko's mom, his girlfriend's phone buzzed.

Kyoko picked up her phone and saw that she had a message. "It's from Maria." She told Ren before opening it. She read the message before speaking again. "She's asking if I can come over to help her get ready for a party she's attending tonight."

Ren silently thanked the little girl for the much needed invitation. He quickly spoke, trying to encourage the uncertain Kyoko. "That sounds like fun."

Kyoko tilted her head to the side as she thought. "But you were looking forward to spending the day together."

Ren shook his head. "It's fine. Plus it's good for Maria to have another girl to spend time with. And besides, I think she only approves of us dating as long as she still gets to spend time with you." He teased.

Kyoko laughed. "I guess you're right." She quickly texted Maria a response before finishing her meal.

* * *

Later that afternoon after Ren had dropped Kyoko off at the President's home, he headed to the law offices Saena worked in. He entered through the main door and took the elevator up to the fifth floor. When he entered the office, Ren greeted the secretary and then sat down to wait.

He could feel himself getting anxious. Kyoko had told him some things about her mom but he knew she had left out things. Ren had never felt the need to press her to reveal anything more than she felt comfortable sharing. By the time that a nearby door opened, his hands were starting to sweat.

"Tsuruga-san?" came a solemn voice.

Ren looked up and saw a serious looking woman who in all honesty didn't resemble Kyoko. But when he looked longer he could see traces of characters Kyoko had played. He stood quickly and approached Saena.

"Mogami-san, thank you for meeting with me." He said with a bow.

Saena gave a polite bow in return before leading him into her office. She gestured to a seat opposite her office chair. "Please, sit." She said before taking her own seat.

Ren sat and then looked at Saena. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows furrowed. "Now, what was it you wanted to see me about?" she asked.

Swallowing his nerves, Ren gave a small smile. "I don't know if you know who I am-"

Saena held up a hand, "I do. You are currently dating my daughter, Kyoko."

Ren nodded. "Um, yes. I am."

She stared at him hard as if trying to read his thoughts.

He swallowed hard. "I'm here to ask for your blessing. I want to ask Kyoko to marry me."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Permissions Granted?

Saena Mogami stared at Ren, who sat silently hopeful. When she said nothing he repeated himself.

"I want to ask Kyoko to marry me but I know your approval would be important to her." He explained.

Saena looked down as though trying to sort out her thoughts. When she looked up he could see some sadness buried in her eyes. "Look, I cannot think of marriage in general in a good light. I think all love is a waste of time. Therefore, I am in no position to pass judgement on whether or not you should marry my daughter. I suggest you ask someone who is closer to her."

With those words, Saena turned away and focused on a file on her desk. Ren understood this to mean he had been dismissed and after giving a quick bow, he left the room.

Ren scratched his head as he reentered his car. _Well, now I know where she gets her stubbornness._ He thought wryly. _She couldn't just give her blessing so we could move on._ He leaned his head against the steering wheel. "Why can't anything just be easy?"

He sat silently wondering what he was supposed to do now. After several minutes, he began his drive home. Kyoko had said that the President would have a car bring her home so all he had left to do was wait. Before he made it to his apartment, he found himself thinking over Saena's words.

" _I suggest you ask someone who is closer to her."_

"But who should I ask?" Ren wondered aloud feeling irritable. Just then an idea flashed into his mind. How had he not thought of it before?

He made a U-turn at the next red-light and hurried towards Darumaya. When he parked on the street, he took several minutes to try and decide what he should say. At least with the couple from Darumaya he knew they liked him.

There was a sudden knock on his window that caused Ren to jump. He looked up and saw Okami-san looking at him with concern. He smiled and carefully climbed out of the car.

"Tsuruga-san, I'm so sorry if I startled you." The older woman said sweetly.

Ren gave a light laugh. "It's fine. I was just thinking." He answered honestly.

She looked around him, glancing back towards the car. "Kyoko-chan isn't with you today?"

Ren shook his head. "No, she's spending time with a friend. Actually, I was wondering if I could talk with you and Taisho about something."

Okami-san smiled and nodded. "Of course, Tsuruga-san. Please, come in. Let me just put these groceries down and I'll get some tea."

It was then Ren noticed that she was carrying several grocery bags that he quickly took from her and followed her inside.

After going inside, Ren waited in the small living room, seated beside the tea table. He was grateful to see that Sho didn't appear to be home and a few moments later Taisho and Okami-san joined him in the room.

Once Okami-san had poured them all some tea, Ren began to speak. "I came to see you both because I know you are very special to Kyoko, and I know you both care about her tremendously." He took a shaky breath, feeling more nervous with Taisho's serious gaze on him.

Okami-san gave him an encouraging nod. "Go on, dear."

"I plan on asking Kyoko to marry me and I came to ask for your blessing." Ren said finally, bowing as deeply as he could while kneeling. He heard Okami-san gasp, but Taisho was silent.

"But why us?" he heard the older woman finally ask.

Ren straightened. "I've already been to see Kyoko's mother, she suggested I ask someone who is close to Kyoko instead because she doesn't approve of marriage."

Okami-san nodded while still looking shocked at the whole situation. Finally, Taisho took a long drink of his tea before setting down his cup. He stared hard at the young man before him. Then nodded solemnly.

"You have our blessing."

Ren felt relief wash over him at this response. He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath until after it released. Taisho gave him a slight smile before rising to leave the room. Ren stood and bowed.

"Thank you. I promise I'll take care of her." He said.

There was a grunt from the older man and then he was gone. But just as Ren thought the hard part was over, the woman seated at the table made a troubling comment.

"I wonder if you should mention this to her friend though. Kotonami-chan may want to give her blessing as well."

After saying good bye, Ren drove in silence back to his apartment. Okami-san's words were still echoing in his mind. _She's probably right. If I did this without talking to Kotonami-san, she'd probably kill me._ He shuttered at the thought.

It was nearly eight o'clock when Ren stepped into their apartment. The first thing he noticed was the delicious smell of Kyoko's cooking.

"I'm home!" he called out as he stepped into the living room.

"In the kitchen," Kyoko called back.

He followed her voice into the kitchen. He was surprised to see that dinner was pretty much ready. "Did you need any help?" he offered, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

Kyoko smiled up at him, "Can you set the table?" she asked.

Ren made a face. He knew that was his job, it was the only thing she trusted him with when dealing with meals. "Fine. Fine. I'll set the table, again…" he teased.

He heard a laugh from Kyoko as he pulled down some plates. He knew he would never get tired of that laugh and he couldn't wait until he knew for sure she would be with him forever.

After the table was set and the food served, Ren turned on the television. He was hoping the distraction would prevent Kyoko from asking him about his day.

He was wrong.

"What'd you do while I was at Maria-chan's house?" Kyoko asked after swallowing the first bite of her food.

Ren shrugged, trying not to look guilty. "I just drove around. I met with a couple of people from work. Nothing special." He knew he needed to change the focus away from himself.

"Did you have fun with Maria-chan?" he asked.

Kyoko nodded, but for a moment something different lingered on her face. It was gone quickly though as she focused on the events of the evening.

Buried deep in Kyoko was concern. She could tell Ren was lying to her but she wasn't sure what he was lying about. He'd been acting strange lately and she wasn't sure what it meant. She told herself to ignore it for now, as she climbed into bed next to him that night.

 _Maybe I'm imagining things._ She thought to herself. She felt Ren's hand grasp hers and glanced over to see his eyes were already closed. A small smile appeared on her lips as her eyes fluttered closed. Some days she was so astounded with the amount of love she was able to feel again. And that made her very happy.

The next day, Ren dropped Kyoko off at LME before heading with Yashiro to a commercial shoot at a nearby station. Kyoko had decided to come here in the morning to see if there was any LoveMe work she could help with before heading to school. It was one of her mostly days off aside from filming as Bo that evening and she was excited to get to school and continue her final year.

As she walked down the halls of LME, thoughts of her concern for Ren filled her mind. _Maybe he wasn't lying to me, or hiding anything. Maybe he's acting weird because he's getting sick and doesn't want me to know!_ She froze in place at this thought.

Kyoko was just about to call Yashiro to advise him to keep a close watch on Ren when somebody ran into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Her bag skidded across the floor, losing most of its contents including two beautiful packed lunches.

Before she could react she felt herself being helped up from the ground and looked up to see her very best friend.

"Moko-san!" she cried in excitement, momentarily forgetting her spilled items and hugging Kanae tightly.

Kanae didn't hug back but she also didn't push the shorter girl away. "Yeah, yeah. I know its me." She said in an annoyed tone. "Why were you standing in the middle of the hallway? Mo!"

Both girls knelt to the ground to begin retrieving Kyoko's things. "I was thinking about Ren." Kyoko admitted.

Kanae rolled her eyes as she handed Kyoko a notebook. "I don't want to her about your mushy love life." She mumbled.

Kyoko blushed. "Wha-? Oh!" she gasped. "No, Moko-san, I didn't mean that. I'm just worried about Ren. He's been acting weird lately. I'm worried he might be getting sick."

Just then Kyoko looked down at what Kanae was handing her. It was one of the neatly wrapped lunches she had dropped. Then she glanced at the one in her own hand. She gasped loudly and then let out a strange cry that startled Kanae.

"What's wrong?" her friend asked.

"I forgot to give Ren his lunch this morning, and I won't see him for the rest of today because I was going to head to school." Kyoko sighed, "If he really is getting sick he should eat a proper lunch. I guess I'll have to go-"

"Which one is for him?" Kanae asked not meeting Kyoko's eyes.

Kyoko's head tilted to the side. "What?"

Kanae looked annoyed and embarrassed. "I'm free for a couple of hours. I can take it to him for you." She offered, "Besides, you should hurry and get to school. It's your third year now, you should do your best."

Kyoko thanked her friend profusely before jumping up and rushing out of LME, leaving behind a slightly annoyed, very embarrassed Kanae Kotonami. She sighed as she looked down at the wrapped lunch in her hand. "What did I just do?"

After calling Yashiro to check for the location to meet them, Kanae took a taxi to the station Ren was at. She quickly located Yashiro and waited with him until Ren took a break a few minutes later. She knew she could've just left but something about Kyoko's worrying didn't sit right with her and if she could help calm her friend's concerns at all, she would.

Ren approached the duo once the director had told them to take a quick break. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at seeing the dark haired girl beside Yashiro.

"Kotonami-san, what're you doing here?" he asked.

Kanae held out the lunch she had been carrying. "I ran into Kyoko and she asked me to bring this to you. She forgot to give you your lunch."

He accepted it with a small smile. "Thank you, Kotonami-san. You really shouldn't have come all the way here."

Kanae rolled her eyes. "Kyoko was worried. She said you were acting weird. She thought maybe you were getting sick."

Ren inwardly cursed himself for being so obvious with Kyoko. He thought he'd been keeping his secret well.

"But now that I see you, you look completely fine." Kanae continued, suspiciously. "So why were you acting strange then?"

Ren glanced around slightly. "Can we talk in private?" he asked her in a hushed voice.

Yashiro looked surprised. Ren wanted to reveal a secret to Kotonami-san that he couldn't reveal to Kyoko and hadn't yet revealed to Yashiro. He wanted to pout but waited to do so until the pair had entered Ren's dressing room safely.

Kanae watched Ren warily. What was it that he couldn't tell her in front of even his manager? She watched as the older man twisted his hands together nervously. "Are you cheating on Kyoko?" The words had escaped her mouth unintentionally. But the second she saw Ren's reaction she knew it was absurd.

Kanae waved a hand. "Forget I asked that." She mumbled.

Ren shook his head. "No, it's my fault for acting suspiciously." He ran a hand through his hair. "I had wanted to meet with you, so I guess this works."

"What is it?"

"I'm planning to propose to Kyoko but someone told me I should probably get your approval first." Ren said the words in a rush but the dark haired girl before him caught every word.

She stared at him silently, her mouth slightly open. Of all the thoughts that had crossed her mind, this wasn't one. She turned her head away slightly, staring at an empty wall. "You don't need my approval for anything. It's not like I'm her family or anything."

"But Kyoko thinks of you as family. You're important to her and she would have a hard time saying yes if you disapproved." Ren replied gently.

Kanae looked at him again. "I guess if she was going to marry somebody, you aren't too bad of an option." Ren didn't miss the tiny smile that turned her lips upward.

He opened his mouth to thank her, when she continued talking. "Do you think your little girlfriend will be okay with this though?" she asked, "I mean you're getting married and it's to her big sister."

Ren sank into his chair. "I didn't think about how Maria-chan would handle it." He muttered.

"Well," Kanae began as she headed to the door. "You've got my approval but you might want to talk to Maria-chan before you do anything big."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Ren leaned his head on his dressing table. He sighed. "How could I have forgotten about Maria-chan?"

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2! I am so excited about where this series is going and im happy people want to follow along with it. Also i just wanted to let you all know the iinspiration i use for this story. Its the song "Stand By You" by Rachel Platten. If you havent heard it you should check it out on youtube.**

 **Thanks again! And ill be back with another chapter by next week. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Final Approval

That evening after work, Ren headed to the President's house. He had called to make sure it wasn't too late to visit Maria and had been happily invited. When he arrived, a housekeeper took him to Maria's playroom where she was reading a book.

As he entered the room, Maria jumped up. "Ren!" she exclaimed, rushing to give him a hug. He twirled her before setting her down.

"Maria-chan, did you get taller?" he asked sweetly.

Maria blushed but nodded. "I did. You would know that if you visited me more often." She pouted.

Ren chuckled, "At least I sent Kyoko to see you yesterday."

Maria's pout softened as she gave a slight nod. Then she smiled and grabbed his hand. "Let's sit down and catch up."

Ren allowed himself to be led to her couch and sat next to her. He was tired but knew he needed to get this out of the way.

"So, what did you come to see me about?" Maria asked, she could tell he had something important to say.

Ren contemplated the best words for this. Finally, he looked at Maria seriously. "Maria-chan, you know that I'm in love with Kyoko, right?"

Maria nodded blushing again. "And Onee-chan loves you too."

Ren nodded, "I am going to ask Kyoko to marry me." He watched her tentatively, waiting for a reaction.

Maria sat silently for several moments, deep in thought. Finally, she looked back at Ren and smiled at him. She beckoned him with a finger to lean towards her. When he did, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I guess if I can't marry you, the next best thing is for Onee-chan to marry you. " she admitted shyly.

Ren hugged her tightly. He had hoped she would be understanding.

After they pulled apart, Ren stood to leave.

"Ren?"

He glanced back at the young girl. "Yes, Maria-chan?"

"What did Grandpa say when you told him? He probably freaked out." Maria giggled at the thought, but stopped when she saw Ren looking serious.

"Actually, I haven't talked to him about it yet."

Maria bit her lip. "You know, he'll probably pout for a year if you don't tell him first."

Ren nodded, knowing she was right. He reached out and patted her head. "Thank you, Maria-chan. I'll go talk to him now."

* * *

Ren made his way from Maria's playroom to Lory's home office. He knocked and entered when he heard the older man's voice. The room inside held a large desk with an elaborate chair behind it as well as few chairs and a couch for guests. The walls were decorated with eclectic items the president had collected over the years.

Lory looked up from some papers he had spread across his desk. "Ah, Ren. Come on in." he stood from his chair and stretched before gesturing for them to sit on the couch.

"Sorry to intrude on you so late," Ren apologized.

Lory shook his head. "Nonsense. It's always a pleasure to see you." He paused for a moment before asking excitedly. "How are things with Mogami-kun?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "You gossip more than an old woman." He replied dryly.

Lory laughed loudly and clapped him on the back. "I take it things are going well then." He teased with a wink. "Now what did you come to see me about?"

"You have to try to stay calm," the actor warned.

The president nodded excitedly. "When am I ever not calm?"

Ren closed his eyes to gain composure. When he opened them he spoke. "I'm going to ask Kyoko to marry me."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than the President literally cheered. He hugged Ren and then jumped up off the couch. "Have you planned anything yet? I can get you the best of everything. We could have the wedding on a movie set if you wanted even!"

Ren held up a hand. "Calm. Remember?" he laughed, feeling less stressed after seeing how happy everyone was for them. "I haven't even asked her yet."

Lory plopped back down onto the couch. "Well, what's taking you so long?"

The younger man ran a hand through his dark hair. "I wanted to get approval from her mother first. But that led nowhere, so I decided to talk with the couple who own the Darumaya. They gave their blessing but every time I think I can ask her now, someone reminds me of yet another person I need to talk to."

The president nodded thoughtfully. "So who led you to talk to me?"

"Maria-chan. She said you'd pout if I left you out of the loop." Ren answered his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Lory laughed, "Well, she's not wrong." His face then turned serious. "I do have one concern though. Does she know your real identity yet? Have you told her about Kuon?"

Ren's thoughts drifted to the recent difficulties they'd had concerning this very secret. "She knows. She discovered my secret this past month actually."

Lory's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Now this is a story I want to hear."

Ren spent the next hour telling his boss about his and Kyoko's relationship as children, including their encounter in Guam and the even more recent meeting while on location. Lory was enjoying this epic love story that reminded him of one of his otome games he loved so much. By the end he was nearly in tears.

"I always knew you two would wind up together." He gushed.

Ren rolled his eyes amusedly. "Well, now that I've told you, I think I can start figuring out how to propose."

Lory tutted softly. "Have you spoken to Kuu? After all, he does consider her to be his adoptive child. You may need to get his permission."

A groan came from the young actor as he sunk back in his seat. He knew he had been forgetting something important. He couldn't propose without talking to his father first.

"Well, thank you for adding one more name to my list."

* * *

Ren left the President's house feeling more than a little frustrated that all his efforts to propose to Kyoko were taking so long. He wondered if he would ever get to propose at this rate. After sending a quick message to Kyoko to say he was on his way home, he began to drive, briefly hoping she wasn't still worrying about him.

The next morning, Ren sat in his dressing room silently rehearsing what he would say to his dad when he called. He had only made it halfway through his speech when he remembered Kyoko's conversation with him from breakfast.

"Are you feeling okay, Kuon?" she had asked. He had cringed inwardly knowing she had taken to only calling him that when she was in serious mode or he was in trouble.

"I'm fine, Kyoko. Just been busy with work so I guess I'm tired." He had tried to brush it off. But he had seen the look in her eyes as she worried over her boyfriend's health.

Yashiro knocked on the dressing room door then entered. "Ren, they want you in make up in ten minutes." He watched as the young actor continued to stare into space. "Ren?" he stepped forward and touched Ren's shoulder, startling him.

"Sorry, What did you say?" the actor asked.

Yashiro watched him with a puzzled expression on his face. "Make up, ten minutes. Ren, are you feeling okay? Was Kyoko-chan right, are you getting sick?"

Ren shook his head. "I'm fine, just distracted." He stood from his seat and stretched.

"Distracted by what?" he asked.

Ren sighed when he saw the determined look in Yashiro's eyes. "Fine. Everyone else has found out so I should tell you." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm planning to ask Kyoko to marry me."

Yashiro nearly squealed before biting his own tongue to stop himself. "Did you say 'marry'?" he asked after a moment.

Ren nodded, he had expected this from his manager. How could he not when this man had assumed feelings long before Ren himself had realized they existed. "But you can't say anything to Kyoko."

Yashiro nodded enthusiastically. "Of course not! I'll keep your secret." He said with a goofy grin. "However, just be warned- you're breaking the hearts of half of Japan." Yashiro teased.

Ren chuckled. "I'm pretty sure my fans have gotten used to me dating someone."

Yashiro raised his eyebrows. "No, Ren. I'm not talking about your fans, I'm talking about Kyoko-chan's."

The actor looked surprised.

"Hasn't Kyoko told you about all the fan-mail she's been receiving since Keishi? Most of it is from guys." His manager revealed seriously.

Ren shook his head. "She never mentioned it."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Tsuruga-san, we are ready for you now!" came a voice through the door.

"I'm coming!" Ren called back. He pushed the conversation to the back of his mind and put on a polite smile before leaving the dressing room.

Behind him, Yashiro sighed. "How do I always manage to say something to make things worse?"

All morning Yashiro's words echoed through Ren's mind. _Could I be hurting her career by proposing so early on? I wouldn't want to cause her to lose fans because of jealousy._ He wondered while he posed for the photo shoot. He was grateful when the lunch break came around and he went to his dressing room alone to call his dad.

He listened as the phone rang twice before his father's voice came on the line. "This is Kuu," the older man greeted.

Ren smiled as he relaxed into Kuon. "Hi Dad." He said in English.

Kuu laughed in excitement. "Son, you called! How are you doing? How's my favorite little girl? Are you treating her properly?"

Kuon chuckled at his father's questions. "Slow down. We are both doing well, and yes I'm treating her very well. Actually," he paused, bracing himself. "Kyoko is the reason I'm calling."

Kuu's tone became serious. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yes, I just, um," Kuon wasn't sure how to approach this. He wanted to do it carefully. "I wanted to ask for your blessing. I'm going to ask Kyoko to marry me."

There was silence for a full minute. Kuon began to feel concerned that the call had dropped. Then he heard his dad's serious tone again.

"Now I don't know, young man. I need to make sure my daughter will be taken care of and treated properly before handing her off to some playboy."

Kuon tried not to laugh at his father's attempted speech. "Of course. I'd expect no less." He smiled. "And as for her being taken care of, I learned from the very best how to treat the woman I love."

Kuu could no longer hold back his excitement. "I should go get your mother. She'll want to know about this from you."

"Wait, Dad."

Kuu paused, "Yes?"

"I have a question. Well more of a concern. Do you think that getting married could hurt Kyoko's career? She's barely growing her fan base and I'm worried that I could be harming it by proposing." Kuon felt better after getting it out. It had been bothering him all morning.

"Son, I don't think you need to worry. When your mother and I married we maintained our fans. Besides, when you are truly talented, your fans can see that." Kuu said in a fatherly tone. "So I don't think either of you have any reason to worry."

As Kuu went to get Julie, Kuon felt his whole body relax. This was it He had finally gotten the necessary approval he needed to propose, now all that was left was planning the proposal.

* * *

 **A/N: First, sorry its a few hours late. The doc uploader is giving me issues so it took longer. Second, i hope you enjoyed this chapter and im excited for the next part of it! Third, thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews. I wish i could reply to every single one. Im planning another skip beat story but this time a complete AU. I hope youll check it out once i post.**

 **Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Perfect Proposal Part 1

By the time Saturday arrived, Kyoko was feeling very concerned. It seemed like everyone around her was acting strange. Ren was always busy, yet Yashiro claimed to know nothing about what was keeping him so busy. Kanae had been jumpy, when asked for advice. Maria had been avoiding her. And the President had been… actually he had been pretty normal. Kyoko had even noticed that Sho seemed a bit more grumpy than usual, but when she asked what was wrong, he only responded with "just work stuff."

Saturday evening found Kyoko and Ren relaxing in front of the television. It was on some variety show that Ren wasn't really watching. He cleared his throat and Kyoko looked at him. She paused the show and turned her attention to her boyfriend.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Ren nodded. "I was just thinking of something. How would you feel about going on a day trip to Kyoto?"

Kyoko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Kyoto? That's pretty sudden. When did you want to go?"

"How about tomorrow?"

Kyoko stared at him. "T-tomorrow? But that's such short notice."

Ren laughed as he took hold of Kyoko's hand. "It's just a day trip. You don't need to pack or anything."

She nodded, "I guess you're right. When would we leave though?"

Ren smirked in a way that made Kyoko regret agreeing to go.

* * *

"Kyoko… Kyoko, wake up…"

Kyoko rolled over in her sleep trying to block out the voice calling to her. _I don't want to wake up._

Ren chuckled. "I'm sorry. But you have to if we are going to spend the whole day in Kyoto."

Kyoko opened her eyes. "Did I say that out loud?" she mumbled.

Leaning down, Ren kissed her lips before getting off the bed. "Hurry and get dressed. You can sleep in the car."

She sat up and glanced around. "It's still dark outside. What time is it?"

From the closet, she heard Ren's voice. "It's 3AM. I told you we would need to leave early."

She groaned and threw herself back onto the bed. _Why does my boyfriend have to be crazy?_

* * *

As they climbed into Ren's car, Kyoko shot a glare at him. "You know, just because you don't need sleep, doesn't mean other people don't."

Ren laughed at her attitude. He was fairly certain she wouldn't regret this trip by the end of it.

Thirty minutes into their five hour drive, Kyoko was asleep. Ren watched her out of his peripheral. Dozens of memories crossed his mind. Memories of meeting her that first day in the lobby of LME.

 _Back then, I never would've thought she could become such an amazing actor. And I would've never imagined that I'd fall in love with her._

He remembered when she had taken care of him that first time he had ever caught a cold. He stifled a laugh at the thought of what he had put her through. Glancing at her as he was stopped at a light, he reached out a hand and tousled her light brown hair.

"I really hope you'll say yes." He whispered. "I don't know what I'll do if you don't."

* * *

By the time they arrived in Kyoto, it was nearly eight-thirty in the morning. Kyoko had woken up an hour before and she and Ren were talking about what to do while in Kyoto. Now that she was well-rested, Kyoko was much happier about their sudden trip.

"Well, I guess we should get breakfast first." Kyoko suggested.

Ren smiled, "Any place you'd suggest? You know the area better than I do."

She nodded. "Um, well there's a bakery that sells some delicious breads and cakes. We could go there. They have a restaurant."

"That sounds perfect."

Ren followed Kyoko's directions and they soon arrived in front of a large bakery/restaurant. He parked on the street and helped Kyoko out of the car. Once seated inside, they ordered their drinks. A coffee for Ren and an iced coffee for Kyoko.

"There's even more choices than the last time I was here." Kyoko said excitedly as she read through the menu.

Ren glanced at her from over his menu. "Did you eat here often when you lived in Kyoto?"

She shook her head. "No, I've never actually eaten here. I came here every week though to buy some bread for the inn." She looked as if her thoughts were very far away. "I've always wanted to eat here though."

He reached out a hand and touched Kyoko's. "Then order anything you want. And we can order some extra bread to take home."

Kyoko shook her head. "You really don't have to do that. Eating here today is good enough."

Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I haven't gotten to spoil you in a while. Let me enjoy myself."

She blushed as she nodded in agreement. "All right, we can take a little bit home."

* * *

After breakfast, they placed three loaves of specialty bread in the car. Then the pair began to walk through town, window shopping at all the stores Kyoko remembered but had never gotten to really experience.

As they walked, Kyoko looked into the window of a high fashion store. In the display sat a perfume bottle that had a little figure of a ballerina on top. The card in front of it read "Swan Lake".

"That is so beautiful," Kyoko barely breathed the words, but Ren heard the desire in her voice.

"Let's look inside," he suggested, innocently.

Kyoko followed him into the small shop nervously. Even now that she was a somewhat famous actress, she didn't feel important enough to be shopping in a store like this. Especially with The Ren Tsuruga standing next to her.

Ren approached an employee while Kyoko wandered through, admiring the fancy clothes. A few moments later, an employee approached her.

"Hello, Miss. Can I help you find anything?" the girl asked.

Kyoko shook her head. "Oh, thank you. I'm just looking around. My boyfriend came in to look at something."

The girl smiled and went to step away but then she stopped. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Kyoko. "A-Are you Kyoko-san? The actress from _Keishi_? And _Dark_ _Moon_?"

A blush colored Kyoko's cheeks. "Um, yes. I am."

"Oh my gosh! Can I get your autograph? I'll go get a paper or something." Before Kyoko could respond the girl ran off.

After the girl had disappeared, Ren returned to Kyoko's side carrying a small shopping bag. "You ready?" he asked.

She shook her head. "One of the employees… she asked for my autograph." Kyoko was in shock. This was the first time she had been recognized in public by someone who wasn't famous.

Ren chuckled at her shocked expression. "Well, that will happen more often now. You are becoming more and more famous."

Kyoko blushed. Just then, the girl returned carrying a notepad and a pen. "I'm sorry, this was all I could find-" the girl froze when she spotted Ren. Apparently it hadn't occurred to her who Kyoko's boyfriend was. She blushed dark as her eyes dropped to stare at the floor. "Tsuruga Ren is here too?" the girl chanced a glance at the tall actor. "Could I get your autograph too?"

Ren flashed her a charming smile. "I'd be happy to."

The girl handed the notepad to Kyoko first who signed it before handing it to Ren. Once she had both autographs she skipped away, excitedly.

Outside of the store, Kyoko giggled. "That was really fun!"

Ren reached out to touch Kyoko's hair. "You're very cute when you get excited."

Kyoko blushed at his compliment, then her eyes caught sight of the shopping bag again. "What did you buy?"

He held it out to her. "Why don't you look?" he offered.

She carefully took the bag and peeked inside. She gasped when she saw the contents. "Ren! You didn't have to buy me it. It must've cost a lot of money." She held up the beautiful Swan Lake perfume from the window display.

Ren leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I know. But I wanted to see the look on your face if I did." He laughed as her shock turned into a pout. "If you want it to be worth my money, you'll just have to be sure to wear it."

She placed the perfume back in the bag. "Fine. But only for special occasions. It's too special to be worn every day."

* * *

They continued walking around for a while longer before deciding to stop for lunch. The pair entered a small café and bought some sandwiches before heading back outside to find a place to sit. After a couple of minutes walk, Kyoko spotted a large fountain. "Let's go sit over there," she said leading Ren along.

As they sat eating their sandwiches, Kyoko turned to Ren. "Why did you suddenly decide we should come here?" she asked.

"I just thought that you might miss the place you grew up. And I figured it was a good opportunity to learn more about you." He answered honestly.

Kyoko blushed. "There isn't much that's interesting about me."

Ren leaned in closer, "I think everything about you is interesting."

Kyoko blushed darker and looked away. "All right, then what do you want to know?"

He smiled triumphantly. "Anything. What was it like growing up in Kyoto? Aside from the one visit, I never came here until now."

He watched Kyoko shrug. "Most of my childhood was at the inn with Sho's family. My mom didn't have time to take care of me so she sent me to live with them for long periods of time. I mostly helped out, learning everything there was to learn about running the inn." She stared down at her hands. "The only times that we really came into the city were the special shopping trips his mom took us on once a week."

Ren was surprised. He had never really thought of Kyoko spending all her time at the inn. "From the sound of it, you didn't have much of a childhood." He commented softly.

Kyoko looked at him but forced a smile. "It wasn't so bad. At least I wasn't alone. I had people who looked after me. And I had you. For those few days. I had a little boy who made me believe in everything all over again."

Ren watched Kyoko's smile turn genuine and restrained himself from embracing her in public. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about him made his heart skip.

* * *

They soon finished their lunch and continued walking. By three o'clock, they both were carrying ice cream cones and Ren was carrying another shopping bag that held a pair of decorated sandals. Kyoko had asked him not to keep buying her things so the sandals had been their compromise.

They passed by a small pet shop that had several adorable puppies playing near the window. Kyoko and Ren peered in at them. "It makes me want one." Ren admitted. He pointed to a white one with a black ear. "That one's cute."

Kyoko laughed and shook her head at him. "How would we ever take care of a pet? We both work too much." She reminded him.

Ren sighed as they continued walking. "I guess you're right. Maybe some day though." He took a bite of his ice cream cone. "What do you want to do now?"

Kyoko looked thoughtful. "Do you think maybe…" she trailed off uncertainly.

"What is it?"

"I'd feel bad if I didn't stop in to see Sho's parents. Especially since they came to see me last year." Kyoko finally said. She watched Ren's face, trying to gauge his reaction.

After a moment, he nodded. "I think you're right. It would be rude not to stop in while we are here."

Kyoko released the breath she'd been holding.

"What?" Ren laughed, "Did you think I'd say 'no'?"

Kyoko smiled. "Honestly, yes."

As they drove to the Fuwa's inn, Ren hoped he wouldn't regret agreeing to it. He had said yes because it got them closer to his final destination, but if things became awkward or turned disastrous as a result of the visit, it would ruin everything.

When he pulled up in front of the inn, Kyoko stepped out and took in the scenery. It was as beautiful as she had remembered it. A tiny pang of sadness hit her as she realized this had all almost been hers. They had offered to take her in still. But she pushed away that thought and focused on Ren. The second half of the reason she had refused, the first being her love of acting.

"Shall we go in?" Ren asked her.

Kyoko nodded and took his hand as they headed inside.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! First, I am so sorry for the delay. I started writing this chapter completely different ajd had 1300 words before i realized it wasnt working. So i erased it all and started over. Im hoping to post part 2 of this chapter tomorrow night so be on the lookout. :) thank you for faithfully rreading my stories and i hope you all enjoyed the first half of this.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here is the second half of the proposal. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! Im somewhat folowing the current cannon of that Sho's parents came to visit Kyoko, but i am assuming that things went very well. Also i have them already knowing that Kyoko is an actress by this point because im sure they wouldve heard about it.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Perfect Proposal Part 2

When they reached the front desk of the inn, Kyoko asked for the owners. A few moments later an older woman she recognized stepped out from a back room. She smiled when she saw Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan," the woman greeted her. She gave Kyoko a hug.

"Oba-san, I'm sorry to just show up. You are probably very busy, but we were in town and I thought I should come say hello." Kyoko babbled on.

Sho's mom interrupted her. "We? Did you bring someone with you?" she looked past Kyoko into the lobby.

Kyoko blushed, "Um, yes. I brought my b-boyfriend." She gestured for Ren to come over and he approached.

Sho's mother's eyes widened as she recognized Ren.

Ren bowed to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ren Tsuruga." He said, introducing himself. Even if they werent Kyoko's parents, he still wanted to make a good impression on the people who had raised Kyoko.

Sho's mother bowed in return. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Tsuruga-san. And it's wonderful to see you again, Kyoko-chan."

"Is Oji-san here?" Kyoko asked.

The older woman nodded. "He's in the office. I'll go let him know you're here." She disappeared behind a nearby door and Kyoko looked at Ren.

"It's an impressive place," he commented looking around and the luxurious surroundings.

Kyoko nodded, feeling somewhat proud of her former home.

Just then someone called out Kyoko's name again. They looked and saw an older man who strongly resembled Sho. He greeted Kyoko warmly and asked her how she was doing. Before she finished answering he noticed Ren.

"And this is your boyfriend?" he asked.

Kyoko nodded. Ren bowed to Sho's father and introduced himself.

Sho's mom turned to Kyoko. "Please, stay for dinner. We'd love to have you both."

Kyoko smiled, "Thank you so much. We'd be happy to."

While both of Sho's parents disappeared again to prepare dinner, Kyoko took time to show Ren around the inn. Meanwhile, Ren was frustrated. He had hoped to have a quick visit and leave so as not to mess up his timing. And to be quite honest, the last place he wanted to have dinner was with his girlfriend's ex's parents.

"I'm sorry that I accepted without asking you." Kyoko said softly, bringing Ren out of his moping.

"No, I understand." He answered with a small smile. "It's fine."

Kyoko led them through the inn and back towards the front. They entered a small room that had a long tea table in the middle. It was already half set for dinner, and within a few moments Sho's mom entered with another tray of food.

"Can I help, Oba-san?" Kyoko offered.

The older woman shook her head. "No, Kyoko-chan. You are our guests. I can't put you to work."

Ren and Kyoko sat down at the table and Sho's mom poured them each a cup of tea. A moment later, Sho's father came into the room and they all sat and began to eat.

There were a few minutes of silence as everyone served themselves and enjoyed the first bites of dinner. Finally, Sho's mom spoke.

"Kyoko-chan, how is Shotaro doing?" she asked, "He says he joined the same agency as you. And that he's working again. So he won't come home."

Kyoko heard the sadness in his mom's voice, but she also noticed the stoic look his father had. "Um, yes. He's joined LME. And he is working again. Luckily, he still has a large fan base so when his next single comes out it's expected to have high sales."

She watched Sho's mom nod and give a meaningful look to her husband. "Well, please let him know he is more than welcome to visit. He shouldn't forget his parents just because he's famous now."

Kyoko nodded with a small smile. She glanced at Ren who looked more than a little awkward in the current situation. Kyoko began to redirect the conversation away from Sho. She asked his parents about the inn's business and they asked her about her acting. Before long dinner was finished, and Kyoko insisted on helping clear the table.

While she helped Sho's mom, Ren was left alone with Sho's father. He felt nervous suddenly being left alone with the older man but tried to hide it.

When Sho's father spoke, it caught him off guard. "Tsuruga-san, was it? So, what made you decide to bring Kyoko-chan out here? Surely, you didn't come just to see us."

Ren rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The last thing he wanted was to discuss his proposal with this man, _but on the other hand, they did raise her. Maybe it would be good to get their approval._

"You're right. I thought it would be a nice trip for her to visit where she grew up." He took a shaky breath. "And I also thought it might be a good place to propose."

The older man raised his eyebrows. "You're going to propose to Kyoko-chan?"

Ren nodded, hoping this wouldn't backfire on him.

Instead, Sho's father nodded in approval. "Good luck. You seem like a good man. Better than my son at least." He muttered.

"Thank you, sir." Ren replied with a bow of his head.

Before they could say anything else, Kyoko and Sho's mom returned to the room.

"Are you sure you two won't stay the night?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Thank you, but we do both have work tomorrow. In fact, we'd better be heading home soon." She bowed low to her former foster parents. "Thank you so much for inviting us to dinner. I will pass your message to Sho."

After more hugs and bows, Kyoko and Ren returned to the car. Ren was happy to see that the sun was just starting to set. He grabbed Kyoko's hand as she reached for the door. "Wait."

She looked at him in confusion. "Shouldn't we be heading out now? It's a long drive home."

"We met near here, didn't we?" he asked.

Kyoko blushed and nodded. "Yes, a few minutes walk from here."

He smiled at her. "Take me back there. I don't remember the way, but I'd like to see it again."

"All right then. Let's go."

Kyoko and Ren walked hand in hand through the nearby field. They passed through a line of trees and both stopped to take in the beautiful scene before them. There was the river and the rocks. Kyoko was sure if she looked that she could still find her king hamburger rock.

"It's still so beautiful." Kyoko said happily. She let go of Ren's hand and stepped closer to the river. She leaned down and gently brushed the cool water with her fingertips. As she stood, she turned around. "Ren, come touch the water. It's-" she froze as she watched her boyfriend get down onto one knee in front of her. "What? What're you doing?" she gasped out.

He reached out and took hold of her left hand in both of his. "Kyoko Mogami, you have been my guardian angel since the first day I met you, here as Corn. You have continued to save me every day since we met again at LME. You've helped me to overcome every trial that has come my way, and I want to be there to do the same for you. To share a life with you." He took a nervous breath and Kyoko could hear his voice trembling. "Kyoko, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She watched as he let go of her hand and pulled out a small blue velvet box. When he opened it she saw a delicate white gold ring inside, decorated with diamonds and a beautiful blue stone that looked familiar. She felt tears spill from her eyes.

Ren got to his feet and hugged her. "What's the matter?" he whispered as he stroked her hair.

"I- I don't deserve you. Th-there are so many better women that you could have," she choked out her words in between sobs.

Ren hushed her. "I don't care about other women. I want to marry you."

She stepped back from him. "B-but I can't give you a family. I don't think I'll ever want to have kids. And your dad wants kids. And- and people will expect you to have a family."

Ren tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "You are the only family I need. I accept you fully as you are. I've known how you feel about this and I would never want you to force yourself for me. So please, will you marry me?"

Kyoko took a breath to stop her tears. "I want to." She finally answered.

Ren grabbed her waist lifting her as he kissed her lips. His passionate kiss made Kyoko's mind go blank. It felt like fireworks.

He lowered her back to the ground and took her left hand in his. She watched as he gently slipped the ring onto her finger. The last rays of sunlight caught the blue stones in it and she saw them change to gold.

"Ren, is this?" she gasped.

He laughed, "Yes, I asked them to incorporate the stone into our rings. I have pieces in mine as well. I hope you don't mind."

Now it was Kyoko's turn to surprise him, as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his lips just as passionately as he had kissed her. She pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"I- I love you, Ren."

He smiled, "I love you too, Kyoko."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi! Heres chapter 6! I hope you all enjoy it. I worked really hard on getting this chapter just right. I really appreciate all of the reviews ive been getting. Reviews are my lifeforce lol.**

 **Also, if any of you are fans of Fairy Tail, I'd highly recommend this Fraxus story called "Two Halves of a Whole" by NeverTooLate123**

 **Now enjoy chapter 6!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Love Before Friendship

"And now if all of you could turn to page 34 in your math books."

Kyoko barely heard her teacher over her own thoughts. She had decided to go to school the morning following her trip to Kyoto, since the drama meeting wasn't until the afternoon. _I might as well have not come though given how distracted I am._ She scolded herself.

So far after three classes, she couldn't remember anything her teachers had said. _I just can't focus knowing I have the drama to worry about later. What if the director sees me and changes his mind? Maybe I wasn't who they actually wanted._ Through her crowd of thoughts she heard the school bell announcing lunch time.

She collected her things and headed through the crowd of students. Once she got outside, Kyoko easily spotted Ren's car waiting for her by the curb. But something seemed different. She glanced nervously at the hand grasped around her bag. _I hope he doesn't notice I'm not wearing it._ She thought as she waved to him.

"Hi!" she greeted him warmly.

He gave her a small smile. "How was school?"

She climbed into the car. "There wasn't a point in me even coming. I was too distracted." She replied.

She watched as Ren walked around and climbed into the driver's seat. He gripped the steering wheel but made no move to start driving. "Why didn't you wear it?" he asked without looking at her.

Kyoko winced at the tone in his voice. He wasn't angry… but he did sound hurt.

"I-" she began but Ren quickly interrupted her.

"Did you change your mind?"

Kyoko's mind reeled at his words. "Oh goodness, Ren. No. I didn't, I just. I wasn't sure if we were ready to tell people and I'm worried about losing it when I take it off so I figured it might be safer at home in the box." She quickly explained.

Ren nodded, feeling instantly relieved. He had panicked when he had found the ring at home. He had assumed she had changed her mind after thinking it through. He gave a forced laugh. "You're right. We should plan carefully for when we are ready to tell people." He reached out a hand and stroked her hair.

Kyoko smiled shyly at her fiancé before noticing the clock on the dash. "Um… we're going to be late if we don't head over soon." She glanced into the backseat. "Where's Yashiro-san?"

"He offered to take a taxi over to the station so that we could be alone." Ren explained. He shifted the car into gear and began to drive. After a moment, he reached out his hand and grasped Kyoko's. "I really am so happy that you said yes."

When they arrived at TBM the pair met Yashiro in the lobby. "How are you, Kyoko-chan?" he asked excitedly as they walked to the elevator.

Kyoko felt confused about why Yashiro seemed so happy. "Um, I'm doing well. Just a little nervous." She admitted. _Maybe he figured out I was worried about today._

Yashiro nodded. "That's understandable with so many recent changes."

Kyoko glanced at him then at Ren. "Wha- what do you mean?"

Ren ran a hand over his face. "Yashiro. You weren't supposed to say anything to her." He sighed and the manager looked guilty. Ren turned to Kyoko. "I'm sorry, he knows about yesterday. I told him this morning while you were at school."

Kyoko understood then. She nodded as they climbed into the elevator. "Well, as long as nobody else finds out it should be fine."

Yashiro scratched his head. "You haven't told Kotonami-san yet?"

She blushed. "Um, not exactly."

Ren laughed as the elevator dinged to signify that they had reached their floor. "Well, you can tell her whenever you're ready to."

They exited the elevator and headed down the hall to the correct room. Once inside, the director immediately hurried over to greet Ren.

"Tsuruga-san! So excited to see you. I look forward to working with you." The middle-aged man gushed as he shook Ren's hand enthusiastically.

Ren flashed his actor smile. "I look forward to working with you as well. I'm very excited for this role."

Kyoko stood back watching awkwardly for several moments. It was beginning to feel like she had walked into the wrong room. _I really don't belong starring in a drama with Ren. He's so much more-_ but Kyoko didn't get to finish her thought because in the next moment she was being greeted in the same excited manner by the director.

"Kyoko-san! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you at first. It'll be a pleasure to work with you. I was a huge fan of your most recent drama. As was my teenage daughter."

Kyoko blushed at his praise. "Th-thank you, director-san."

Ren winked at Kyoko from behind the director. Kyoko was fairly certain he was thinking something along the lines of " _Don't worry, you're not insignificant._ "

"Director-san, I haven't heard yet who was cast for the other lead role. When will he be arriving?" Ren asked, trying not to appear as curious as he was.

The director glanced at his watch. "Actually, he should've been here by now. Let me try giving him a call." They watched as the director stepped out of the room.

"It's strange for a lead actor not to be here yet." Yashiro commented, "But perhaps something happened." Kyoko nodded. Just then, Yashiro's phone rang. "Excuse me." He said, following behind where the director had gone.

Ren cleared his throat to get Kyoko's attention. "Why don't you go talk to some of the other actresses?" he suggested.

She looked across the room and saw a group of four young actresses talking together. One of them glanced their way and began whispering to the others. "I don't really get along with other girls." She muttered.

Ren laughed, "You get along fine with Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san."

"But I didn't at first. They both hated me in the beginning."

"Until they got to know you… so why not go introduce yourself. It's good to have friends in the business."

Kyoko frowned for a moment but finally nodded. "All right. I'll go introduce myself." She took a few steps across the room until she was standing next to the four girls. She glanced back at Ren who gave her an encouraging nod.

"Hi," she began, getting their attention. "I look forward to working with you. I'm Kyoko." She started to bow but was interrupted.

"Oh we know who you are," an actress who looked to be a couple of years older than Kyoko said. She had long flowy brown hair and a slender frame. "You're Tsuruga-san's girlfriend. You can call me Hina-chan." She gestured to the other girls with a smile. "This is Asuka, Mei, and Ami."

The other girls all gave cheerful greetings in return. Kyoko was surprised to see that none of them were hostile towards her. _I'm surprised. I thought at least a couple of them would be angry with me for dating Ren, but they seem to like me._

Yashiro reentered the room and approached Ren. "Kyoko-chan seems to be making friends." He commented, observing her chatting cheerfully with the other actresses.

Ren nodded, "It's nice to see her getting along with other actresses."

Just then, the door opened and the director stepped in. "I found him," he announced, his voice still full of excitement. "It seems Yamato-san was given the wrong room number. Let's settle in and get started."

As they headed to their assigned seats, Kyoko noticed she would be seated in between Ren and the new Yamato-san. She watched the mysterious actor talk amiably with a couple of producers. He was tall, though still a couple of inches shorter than Ren. His body appeared fit and his blond hair swept into his eyes.

Kyoko noticed Ren seemed tense next to her. "Are you okay?" she asked in a whisper.

Ren nodded slightly.

"What's up? Do you know him?"

"Um, well," Ren began but he was quickly interrupted by Yamato.

"Ren-kun! What a surprise! I never would've guessed we'd be working together." The blond actor exclaimed. Then his eyes wandered over to Kyoko. His hazel eyes widened at the sight of Kyoko in her school uniform. "You must be his girlfriend, Kyoko-chan, was it?" he bowed to her. "Please call me Suoh-kun."

Kyoko stared at him in shock. "You know Ren?" she asked finally.

Suoh laughed. "Of course, we worked together when he first joined LME. The first drama he was in he was playing my younger brother."

Kyoko watched as Suoh ruffled Ren's hair. She could see Ren tense up but then his sparkling smile appeared. "It will be such a pleasure to work with you again."

Suoh sat down beside Kyoko and flashed her a smile and wink before focusing on the director who had begun to speak.

"Welcome all of you to the first meeting for our new drama _Love Before Friendship_! As some of you may know, this drama is being adapted from a popular manga series. Actually," he looked a little sheepish, "I took on this project because it's my daughter's favorite manga. So we will be keeping as close to the original as possible." He looked around at his actors.

"In case you aren't familiar with the story, it's a beautiful story of friendship between two guys who attend university together. But when Keiji's younger sister begins attending their university, Yusei falls for her. It's all about them saving their friendships, while trying to form a romance."

Kyoko listened feeling more nervous as the director explained the story. She had known most of the summary but hearing how passionate the director was made her worry. _What if I cant do it as well as he's expecting?_

Soon the scripts were handed out and the director had them read through the first episode. Kyoko quickly realized that her character, Hana, had a huge brother complex. But not in the same way Setsu had acted. Hana more seemed to think of her big brother as a protector. Someone who would never let anything happen to her.

After the script reading, Ren got caught up talking to one of the producers who was no doubt trying to scout him for another job, while Yashiro was making notes in a schedule book. Kyoko sat awkwardly by herself. She glanced over and spotted Suoh flirting with some of the actresses from before.

He looked up and his eyes met hers. Kyoko saw him excuse himself and head back towards her. Not wanting to be rude, she smiled. "Yamato-san," she began.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Kyoko-chan, didn't I tell you to call me Suoh-kun?" he scolded teasingly.

Kyoko nodded, "Sorry. Suoh-kun, I was just going to say I look forward to working with you. How long have you been acting?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess it's been about twenty years. I started when I was six years old."

Kyoko could hear from his tone that he was bragging. _He's almost as bad as Sho._ She thought, but aloud she acted surprised. "Wow, that's really amazing. I've only been acting for two years."

"Don't worry, you're still an amazing actress."

She blushed, "Thank you." She said with a bow of her head.

Suoh chuckled. "So Kyoko-chan, as my new little sister, what do you think about going out to dinner and getting to know each other?" he suggested.

Kyoko's eyes widened. "Really? That would be great! I'll invite Ren so that we can all talk about the drama." She got to her feet but Suoh reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"We don't have to invite Ren-kun this time. I was thinking it might be nice for just the two of us…" his sentence trailed off and Kyoko felt uneasy.

She pulled her hand out of his. "Yeah, but he's playing your best friend and my love interest so he should be there too. I'll just go let him know."

Suoh stood and Kyoko could see something akin to frustration in his eyes. "Actually, Kyoko-chan, I forgot I have a prior engagement tonight. Maybe we can get together another time." He patted her head before walking away.

She watched him, frozen in place until he had left the room. She felt a chill over her body. There was something wrong with how he had acted. _Is that the type of thing Ren says I was oblivious to before?_

"Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro tapped her shoulder making her jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Kyoko shook her head. "No, it's fine. I was just distracted."

Yashiro looked worried, "That guy wasn't bothering you, was he?"

Kyoko opened her mouth, debating on whether or not to tell Yashiro. Then she closed her mouth and forced a smile. "No, it's fine."

He didn't look like he believed her but he decided not to push the topic. _I'll just have to keep a close eye on that guy._ He decided.

Ren approached them then but before he could ask Kyoko about what she thought of the meeting, she was pulled away by the director.

The director looked at Kyoko kindly. "Kyoko-san, there's one thing that I was concerned about. The character of Hana-chan secretly knows martial arts. Do you want us to hire a stunt double for you for those scenes? Or do you think you could learn enough for the role?"

Kyoko was caught by surprise. Nothing had been mentioned to her about this yet. "I think I'd like to try to learn it."

The director grinned proudly. "I knew we picked the right actress for this. Good luck, Kyoko-san!"

Ren and Yashiro stood silently next to each other as they watched Kyoko talk to the director.

Yashiro glanced at the actor beside him. "What do you think of Yamato-san?" he asked innocently.

Ren felt uneasy. He hadn't failed to notice the older actor chatting with Kyoko. "I don't like that guy. We didn't get along well the last time we worked together either." He admitted.

Yashiro raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You usually get along well with everybody."

Ren glanced at his manager. "Then what does that tell you about him?"

The manager nodded seriously. Unless he was mistaken, Ren had just asked him to help protect Kyoko from that guy.

Kyoko bounced back over to the solemn looking pair. She turned to Ren, her worries over Suoh long gone from her mind. "Ren, do you know martial arts?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Preparation for a Role

In the car on the way home from the first cast meeting for their new drama, Ren glanced over at Kyoko.

"What do you think of our new co-star?" he asked, trying not to sound too curious.

Kyoko was silent as she thought for a moment. "Well, he's definitely a little arrogant, but he must be a good actor if the director picked him. I think I'm looking forward to seeing what his acting skills are like."

Ren nodded silently.

"What about you?" Kyoko asked, tentatively.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you didn't seem to like him very much. So I was wondering what you thought of him." She explained.

"Ah, well I hope I wasn't too obvious." He said with a laugh. "It's true, the last time we worked together we didn't get along too well. But it has been about five years since I've worked with him, so I'll have to wait and see."

"That's true. He may have changed some. Still," she giggled. "It was kind of funny to see someone treat you like a kid."

Ren rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Sorry, Ren. I was just teasing." She reached out a hand and touched his arm. "Oh! Can we stop over here." She pointed out the window at a shopping center. "I wanted to go into a bookstore."

Ren turned into the parking lot. He parked near the bookstore. "What did you need to get?"

"I was thinking I should get the manga for the drama, to help with my character. Also, maybe I should get a book on martial arts while we're here." She explained as she climbed out of the car.

"All right, then let's go." He answered with a smile.

They headed into the store and Kyoko asked a worker where the martial arts books were located. The worker pointed to one end of the store and they headed over. Kyoko stared in awe at the large selection of books on the subject.

"Wow, I didn't think there'd be so many different books about martial arts." She picked up a book and flipped through it before setting it down. She looked at Ren. "Maybe you could pick out one?"

Ren smiled, "Sure, why don't you go find the manga and I'll meet you over there."

After picking out a beginner's guide to martial arts, Ren wandered across the store to the manga section. There he found his fiancée kneeling on the ground in front of the bookshelf.

"Did you find it?" he asked, crouching down next to her.

She nodded, "Yes, I just didn't realize it was twenty-five volumes long." She told him. He could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"Afraid you won't be able to finish it before we start filming Monday?" he teased, picking up the first volume. On the front cover he saw an illustration of two good looking guys each looking down at a cute blonde girl with long pigtails.

"It's not that. I just don't have enough money to buy it all." Kyoko contemplated the books before her. "I guess I'll just buy the first three today. That should be enough."

As she began to pull out the books, Ren stepped away, returning a moment later with a plastic shopping basket.

"Oh, Ren. It's only a few books. I'm sure we could just carry- what are you doing?" she exclaimed as she watched him load up the basket with a copy of each volume. He stood and looked at her seriously.

"You need these for your research, right?" he asked.

Kyoko stared at him in shock before nodding slightly. "But I don't have enough-"

Ren put a finger to her lips. "We are getting married, right? I think I can buy you a few books. Besides, it's for work."

Kyoko watched as he walked to the register and paid for her books. _Do I really deserve someone like you?_ She wondered. She shook her head with a smile before hurrying after him.

When they arrived at home, Kyoko stepped into the kitchen to boil some water. "I'm just going to make a cup of tea and sit down to read the manga for now." She called over her shoulder to Ren.

"All right, I'm going to shower before looking over the script again." He told her, peeking his head into the kitchen. "How do you feel about getting up early to start your training in the morning?"

"That sounds perfect!" Kyoko agreed enthusiastically. She was excited to learn martial arts, but even more excited to be taught by Ren. She had seen him in a fight before and knew he would be an excellent teacher.

Once Kyoko had prepared her tea, she settled into her favorite seat on the couch and opened the first volume of the manga. By the time she had finished the first chapter, she could feel her eyelids getting heavy.

* * *

As Ren showered, the hot water allowed him to think. He had never expected his co-star to be Suoh. He still remembered back when they first acted together. _That guy spent every spare moment flirting with every woman on set._ He grimaced in disgust.

Ren had never liked people who didn't take their acting seriously, but this guy was on a different level. He disrespected the trade by using it solely to attract women. Ren just hoped Suoh had the sense to leave Kyoko alone.

 _Surely, he wouldn't hit on his own co-star's girlfriend, right?_

After his shower, Ren stepped out into the living room. There he found Kyoko fast asleep on the couch with the manga still in her hand. "Didn't even drink your tea." He said with a laugh. He took the book from her hands and placed it on the tea table before scooping her into his arms.

As he carried her to their bed, Ren stared down at Kyoko's sleeping face. _I really hope he doesn't get attached to you._

* * *

The next morning after an hour of training, Kyoko was exhausted and sweaty. No matter her many attempts, she still was unable to take down her fiancé. She tried not to show her frustration at not being able to effectively defend herself.

"How am I going to portray Hana-chan correctly if I cant even do this?" Kyoko groaned as she sat on the floor.

Ren sat next to her and put his arm around her. "Don't worry. This is only our first day of training. You have good form, but I think you're holding back."

Kyoko looked at him, stunned. "I'm not holding back. I'm trying really hard."

He laughed, "Sorry, that's not what I meant. I know you're trying. But it feels like you're scared to hurt me."

She blushed, it was true. She had been concerned that he might get hurt. "Can we practice again tomorrow morning? I think I'll be able to do it then."

Ren kissed her forehead. "Of course, love. I'm sure you'll get it in no time."

He helped her up from the ground. "Why don't you go shower and I'll fix the furniture."

With a quick thank you, Kyoko hurried away to shower before the day began.

After sending Ren off to work, Kyoko settled down on the couch with her school books. Summer homework had already been handed out and as it was her last year of school, she wanted to make sure to do well on it. As she began to look through it, something bugged her.

"Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something important?" she asked the empty apartment. She pushed away the nagging feeling and began to work diligently on her homework.

Two hours later, she decided it was time to work on her role. Kyoko brought out the first volume of the manga that she had failed to read the night before. When she had made it through the first three chapters she set the book down and made herself some lunch.

"So, Hana-chan is attached to Keiji-nii. That's similar to Cain and Setsu, but she looks up to her big brother. It's like she constantly wants him to think of her as cute and helpless so that he'll become her protector again. While secretly, she kind of resents him for leaving her to go to university." She mused over her role as she ate. There was something familiar about the way Hana acted towards Keiji.

"But what does it remind me of?" she sighed, unable to discern an answer. She let her head fall forward onto the table. _I want to ask Ren, but I don't want to burden him. He's probably trying to perfect his character. And I can't keep relying on Father to help me figure things out. So who can I ask?_

Suddenly, realization hit her and she jumped up. She quickly dressed into her clothes she would wear to TBM later for the filming of Bridge Rock. Then she grabbed her script and manga and shoved them inside of her purse before rushing out the door.

Once inside of the taxi, she glanced at her phone. It was nearly two o'clock. "I just hope Moko-san will be at the agency."

* * *

When Kyoko reached the door of the LoveMe section she could already hear voices arguing within. She hesitantly opened the door to see what was going on.

"I have been in the LoveMe section longer than you, that makes me your senpai so I should have first use of the room." Kanae argued.

Sho rolled his eyes. "Well, I've been in showbiz longer. That makes me your senpai. So I should have first dibs."

Kyoko watched as her former and current best friends argued over what seemed to be usage of the LoveMe section. She hurried into the room. "Moko-san! Shotaro! Please stop." She cried out stepping in between them.

They both stared at her in shock. "What are you doing here?" they exclaimed in unison before glaring at each other.

"What are you two arguing about?" Kyoko asked.

Kanae turned to her friend. "I need to use the room to memorize my lines."

"No one's stopping you." Sho huffed, crossing his arms.

"Well, I can't memorize them if you are making all that noise." The actress retorted.

"Well, _I_ have a song to write. And there's nowhere else I can work on it."

"Calm down, you guys." Kyoko said, "Sho, Kanae-san doesn't take long to memorize her lines, so why don't you work quietly for a bit and when she's done , you'll have the room to yourself."

Neither talents looked satisfied with the arrangement but they both grumbled their agreement. Kyoko sighed in relief when she realized the problem was settled. Her own problems took over her mind again.

Sho noticed her frowning. "What's wrong with you? Shouldn't you be all giggly, busy daydreaming about getting married to Mr. Pretty boy?"

"Wait, you knew?" both girls exclaimed.

Then Kyoko looked at Kanae. "You knew too?"

Sho sat down in his seat again. "Yeah, I knew. I saw him when he was picking out your ring at a jewelry store last week."

"And I knew because Tsuruga-san came to me to ask for my, um, blessing." Kanae answered, her cheeks tinging pink.

Kyoko glanced at both parties in front of her. "Um, well, he did ask. And I said yes. But we are keeping it a secret for right now, so please don't say anything to anyone."

Kanae nodded, and shot a glare at Sho when he didn't answer. "Fine. It's not like I care anyway." He responded haughtily.

"What did you come here for though? I didn't think you had anything planned with the LoveMe section today." Her friend asked her.

Kyoko's eyes widened, she had nearly forgotten her purpose for coming, with all the excitement. "M- Kanae-san, I need your help with my role. Can we go somewhere to talk?"

Kanae looked surprised but nodded. "I'm not too busy, so sure." She answered calmly. They left the room and headed to the cafeteria. On the outside, Kanae was calm and cool, but inside she was fairly excited. A part of her had assumed her days of helping Kyoko with roles was over with. After all, she had Ren now, why would she ever want to ask someone who was on the same level as her for advice.

Kyoko led them to a small table in a corner, after buying drinks from a vending machine. "The role is for my new drama."

Kanae nodded, "Okay, so what is it?"

"I'm playing the younger sister to one of the leads. She's kind of got a brother complex. She wants her brother to always think she's cute and innocent and needs him, even though she isn't really like that anymore." Kyoko explained, "But I'm not sure how to portray her. From the manga it seems like she acts younger than her age." She opened her bag and pulled out the manga, handing it to Kanae.

The older girl flipped through it. She found a scene of the first reunion between brother and sister. In the illustration, a blonde girl with pigtails and cute clothes was throwing herself into the arms of her big brother.

"Oh my gosh. You really haven't figured out who this is like?" Kanae asked with a small smirk.

Kyoko frowned, "Moko-san!" she wailed. "Don't tease me! I'm here because I don't know."

Her friend laughed and set the open manga in front of Kyoko. "Now where have you seen a little blonde girl throw herself into a good looking older guy's arms."

Kyoko felt a multitude of memories flash through her mind. All of them of little Maria throwing herself at Ren. Demanding hugs and attention and praise.

Kyoko jumped up and hugged Kanae from across the table. "It's Maria-chan!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Moko-san. I think I'll be able to do it now."

Kanae smiled knowing Kyoko couldn't see her face. "Oi, get off of me! We're in public." She shoved her friend away.

Kyoko beamed at Kanae. _Maybe this role won't be so difficult after all. I think I might have this now!_

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading chapter 7! I am super excited to start writing all the drama stuff starting in the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed seeing Kanae again. See you next week!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi again! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I worked really hard on it and hope you all like it. Your reviews keep me alive so thank you for all of them! :) enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8: A Troubling Interview

That night after dinner, Kyoko climbed into bed next to Ren and continued reading her manga. Each time she read a scene featuring her character she would get excited at the prospect of acting it. Ren glanced back and forth between his script and his phone. He was making sure he understood everything in his script, when he remembered something he had forgotten to tell Kyoko.

"Kyoko?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb her reading.

She looked up. "Yeah? What is it?" she put her bookmark inside the book and closed it, resting it on her lap.

"I forgot to tell you about something." He scratched the back of his head. "Yashiro said the director called him. He asked about setting up an interview for Friday for the drama. I recommended to him a show a friend of mine produces."

Kyoko nodded. "Okay, so what does that have to do with me?"

Ren chuckled, "Kyoko, they want you in the interview too. You're one of the stars." He laughed again at her surprised expression. "It'll be me, you, and Suoh-kun."

"Wow, I guess it is pretty normal to do a pre-filming interview though." She commented. "What time?"

Ren clicked into his phone calendar. "Eight o'clock, Friday night. It'll be a live interview but don't worry. I'll be there with you."

"Well, I'm used to live shows on Bridge Rock, so it shouldn't be too bad." Kyoko said, picking up her manga to continue reading.

"There was one more thing."

She looked at him over the top of the book. "Uh huh?"

Ren looked nervous and for once, he wasn't doing a good job at hiding it. "I, um, I thought the show might be a good opportunity to announce our engagement." He saw the panic on Kyoko's face and continued talking.

"It'll be good publicity for the drama. And it's a safer environment than most because the producer is a friend of mine. Also, I'll be sitting with you the whole time."

She stared at him for a moment before setting down her book again. "Ren, I don't know if that's a good idea. I thought we wanted to keep it quiet a little longer."

Ren reached out and touched the side of her face. "Are you afraid of people knowing? Because you don't need to be. I think most people will be happy for us." He said as he gently caressed her cheek.

"It's n-not that I'm scared. I just think we need to be cautious."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "What is more cautious than announcing it on our own terms?"

Kyoko nodded, "Okay. I guess, if you're sure that it'll be all right."

He smiled at her, "I promise. It'll be fine."

The next morning, Kyoko woke up before Ren and prepared for her training. She moved the furniture and then sat in the middle of the floor to meditate. _You are Hana-chan. You learned self-defense to protect yourself from bullies after your brother left you for college. When caught by surprise you attack._

"Kyoko?"

She jumped at Ren's voice, causing herself to fall over sideways. "Ah!" she cried out. She rolled onto her back and stared up at her laughing fiancé. Kyoko shot a glare at him before standing up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Ren said between laughs. "Are you ready for today's training?"

Kyoko nodded. She bowed low in front of him. "I am ready, Sensei. Please teach me what I need to learn."

Ren held back his laughter at her sudden seriousness. "Very well. Get into the form I taught you yesterday." He watched as she moved her legs and arms. Stepping forward he placed his hand on her arm, lowering it slightly.

"Remember, do not tense up too much or else you won't have free range of movement." He instructed. "Now, in our scene together, I come up behind you like this." He stepped up behind her. "And when I place my hand on your shoulder," he rested his hand as he had said, "You panic and knock me down."

He guided her through the necessary motions to grab hold of him, spin, and kick his feet out from under him before pinning him to the ground.

Kyoko looked down on him as he smiled up at her. "Are you ready to try it on your own this time?" he asked.

Kyoko nodded, "I believe I am ready, Sensei."

They repositioned themselves and Kyoko imagined the scene. _It's nighttime. I am standing by myself in an unfamiliar park near campus. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder and my mind flashes back to the guys who used to bully me. I grab his hand and kick and-_

With a whoosh, Ren was knocked to the ground. Kyoko hovering over him, with a serious expression in her eyes. She blinked and returned to herself, quickly moving off of him. "Did I do it?"

Ren sat up with a laugh. "You certainly did."

"Do you think it'll be good enough for the actual filming?" she asked uncertainly.

He leaned over and kissed her lips gently. "I think, you are going to be amazing. Just like always."

* * *

That Friday evening, Kyoko fidgeted anxiously in the back seat of Ren's car. She had borrowed his headphones and was trying to listen to music to calm her nerves. Yashiro watched her worriedly from the front seat. He glanced at Ren.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

Ren glanced at Kyoko through the rearview. He watched her twist her ring around on her finger. "She's just nervous about announcing the engagement. It should be fine though."

"And what about your co-star? Yamato-san?" Yashiro commented, "Are you nervous about doing an interview with him in it?"

"Honestly, I have my concerns, but I think we should be fine during the actual interview." Ren turned into the studio parking lot. He parked and reached back to tap Kyoko's leg.

She jumped and removed the headphones. "Are we here already?"

Ren chuckled, "It'll be fine. Don't worry." He said giving her knee a light squeeze.

They exited the car and Yashiro checked in at the desk and then led his two stars to the correct room. "Ready?" he asked before opening the door.

Ren and Kyoko both nodded and then stepped inside. As they passed through the doors, they were immediately greeted by a familiar figure.

"Ren-kun! Kyoko-chan! Great to see you again." Suoh called out. He stood up from the make up chair he was sitting in. The girl fixing his hair looked annoyed but said nothing.

Kyoko smiled at her co-star. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Suoh-kun." She said kindly, bowing.

Ren felt irritated at the way Suoh watched Kyoko. "It'll be good to work together again, Suoh-kun." Ren said politely. Kyoko could feel Ren's dangerous sparkles even without looking at him.

Yashiro knew he needed to keep them moving. "Ren, I think you and Kyoko-chan should go get into make up." He suggested cautiously.

Ren nodded, "You're right." He turned to Kyoko and took hold of her hand. "Let's go." He said leading her through the set.

When they reached the make up chairs and crew area, Ren spotted the producer. "Shall we go say hello to her?" he asked Kyoko. She followed his gaze to a woman nearby. She was dressed in a suit jacket and skirt with heels Kyoko was shocked by. She looked to be in her thirties and had her brown hair tied back into a bun.

"Of course," Kyoko agreed. She followed Ren to the producer.

"Tsubasa-san, good evening." Ren greeted her. He gave a slight bow, and Kyoko saw the woman's eyes sparkle at the sight of the attractive actor.

"Tsuruga-san, how nice to see you." She looked past Ren and spotted Kyoko. "And this is your lovely girlfriend."

Kyoko blushed and nodded. "I'll be in your care, Tsubasa-san." Kyoko said bowing to the older woman.

"It'll be a pleasure to have you with us. Why don't you two relax over there until we start. Your interview will be the second one tonight." She explained.

"Thank you," Ren replied, before leading Kyoko back to the make up chairs.

A woman came over to touch up Kyoko's make up, while another fixed Ren's hair. Kyoko could feel her stomach doing flips in anticipation of what could be considered a life-changing interview.

As they waited for their interview time, Suoh approached them and sat in the seat beside Kyoko. "This is your first time doing this kind of interview like this, right Kyoko-chan?" he asked.

She glanced at him, "Um, well, usually there are more people being interviewed so my part is very small. And it's never been on live tv before." She admitted.

Suoh chuckled and patted Kyoko's head. "Well, if you have any trouble just look to me and I'd be happy to help you out." He winked at her playfully.

Kyoko forced a smile as she fixed her hair. "Yes. Thank you." She replied politely.

Nearby, Ren was clenching his fists tightly. He hated that this guy had dared to touch Kyoko but knew he needed to control himself for both their sakes. When Suoh stepped away to answer a phone call, Kyoko turned to her fiancé.

"You okay?" she asked, taking in his serious expression.

He looked startled by her sudden question and struggled to show his gentleman's smile. "Of course, I'm fine. Why would it bother me that another man just touched my fiancée's head?" he grumbled the last part, his tone going from pleasant to irritated.

Kyoko reached out and touched his hand. "Don't worry. I don't like him any more than you do. He's too arrogant." She whispered.

Ren looked happier after hearing that Kyoko wasn't blind to Suoh's bad side. He took her hand in his and held it as they waited to be called.

* * *

"Welcome back viewers! Our next guests are some of Japan's hottest stars, including the one and only Tsuruga Ren." The interviewer exclaimed. The live audience in the seats before the stage applauded loudly as Ren waved to them from his new seat on a couch he shared with Kyoko and Suoh.

"We also have Yamato Suoh, from last summer's drama _Love is Lost,_ as well as the upcoming actress, Kyoko, who is best known for her currently airing drama _Keishi_." Both Suoh and Kyoko waved to the audience. Kyoko was feeling more and more uneasy. She didn't care for the look of the interviewer, Risa, and felt more concerned about if this was the right time. _Well, it's too late to be thinking that now._ She scolded herself.

"It's a pleasure to be here with you," Ren said smoothly, bringing Kyoko out of her thoughts.

"Well, we are just so lucky to have so much talent in one studio," Risa said with a flirty smile. "Why don't you tell us, what is this new drama you all will be starring in?"

"The drama is _Love Before Friendship_ , it's based off the popular manga series." Ren answered.

"And, Ren-san, you're the starring role, right?" she asked.

He laughed, "I guess you could say that, but my character Yusei wouldn't be anywhere without the other two."

Risa turned her attention to Suoh. "That's right. Suoh-san, you are playing Yusei's best friend."

He smiled a charming smile, "Yes, I play Keiji. He and Yusei have been best friends for several years when the story starts."

"And you have worked with Ren-san before?"

"Now, Risa-chan," Suoh said coyly. "You're going to make me feel old. Yes, I played Ren-kun's big brother in one of his first major dramas. Goodness," he faked counting on his fingers, "It's been about six years since then."

Risa giggled, "And now you both are big stars." She turned to smile at Kyoko. "And you, Kyoko-san, have what is possibly the best role. You're playing Suoh-san's little sister and Ren-san's love interest, right?"

 _Channel Kimi…_ Kyoko told herself. She smiled elegantly at Risa. "I really am lucky to be playing Hana-chan. Especially because both of my co-stars are such talented actors. I'm sure I'll be able to learn a lot from both of them."

"And what do you think about getting to play Ren-san's on-stage girlfriend?"

"Well, I've seen him act-" Kyoko began, but she was quickly interrupted by Risa, who was staring in shock at Kyoko's left hand.

"Kyoko-san, is that- are you wearing a ring?" Risa nearly screamed.

Kyoko blushed, she knew it would get noticed sooner or later but she had just started to relax. "Um, yes. It is a ring."

Ren reached out and held Kyoko's left hand. "Actually, we had an announcement we wanted to make. I asked Kyoko to marry me and she said yes."

There was a loud roar of applause and cheering from the studio audience and Risa sat in complete silence. Ren looked at Kyoko who was pale. He squeezed her hand gently.

Risa shook her head. "Congratulations!" she finally exclaimed. "What a surprise. Wow. Well, I am sure everyone here would love to know how he proposed."

Kyoko tried to focus her thoughts, of course she should've expected questions like this. "Um, well, he took me back to my hometown and we spent the day sightseeing. Then after dinner he took me to a beautiful river I used to play by and he proposed." She tried to keep herself from blushing as she talked, but she knew she must have turned red by now.

The women in the audience, as well as Risa, awed at Kyoko's story.

"And have you two set a date yet?"

Ren shook his head. "Not yet. We are taking our time." He responded, looking at Kyoko lovingly. There was more aweing from the audience.

Risa nodded, "Of course. So, Kyoko-san how soon can we expect a Tsuruga baby?"

Kyoko stared at Risa, her mind going blank. Was that even the type of question that should be asked? She waited a moment hoping someone would take it back. "Um…" she struggled to find an answer. "Well, I think we'll be waiting a while before talking about starting a family. Since we are both acting currently." She answered regaining her composure.

Ren tensed in his seat. _What kind of a question was that?_ He thought irritably. But the next question only made him feel worse.

"How does your family feel about this new engagement?" Risa asked, "I'm sure they must be thrilled given that you'll be marrying Japan's number one actor. And your mother probably can't wait to help plan the wedding-"

Risa's voiced faded in and out in Kyoko's mind. _My family? People want to know about my family now? But, how? What do I say?_ She was panicking, which was obvious by her pale face and shaking hands. She didn't know what to say or do but was contemplating running, when Suoh spoke.

"Well, Risa-chan, as Kyoko-chan's new onii-san. I have to say I'm a bit unsure about giving her away to this guy." Suoh said with a laugh. He wrapped an arm around Kyoko's shoulders playfully.

The audience laughed and Risa seemed to have caught on to change the subject. She quickly resumed the proper interview and it was soon over. The whole way off-stage Kyoko was silent. She found Suoh standing by his make up station.

"Suoh-kun," she said, bowing before him. "Thank you very much for helping me before. I was surprised and froze up."

He smiled at her and touched her hair. "It was no problem, Kyoko-chan. I am always happy to help a beautiful girl in need."

Kyoko stepped back giving him a forced smile. "I guess I will be seeing you Monday for filming."

"See you then," he replied.

Kyoko stepped past him and walked out of the studio. She knew Ren was still inside with Yashiro but she felt too upset to face him. She had been humiliated on live television and he had done nothing. _Actually, it's worse than that. Suoh-kun had to save me and I had to thank him for it._ She leaned against Ren's car wishing for once that she could drive herself home. Because at this moment, when tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, she did not want to sit inside of a car with the man she loved.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Regrouping After the Disaster

Several minutes after Kyoko had left the studio, Ren and Yashiro followed. Ren was still fighting Kuon from releasing all of his anger at seeing his future wife being treated the way she was. He kicked a nearby trash can.

"Ren, I know you're upset but please don't lose control here. There are security cameras." Yashiro warned him.

Ren fought the urge to turn on his manager. He swallowed back the sharp words he had been about to utter. "You're right. Sorry. I just can't believe the producer left before our segment. This was supposed to be a good experience for Kyoko. Now she probably hates me."

They turned a corner into their section of the parking lot. "Well, that's a good sign, right?" Yashiro asked. He nodded towards where Kyoko stood waiting by the car with her arms crossed.

Ren gave a hollow laugh. "It just means she's not angry enough to try to walk home. But, you're right, at least she's coming home."

They walked to the car and Ren reached out to Kyoko who moved away silently. He unlocked the door and she climbed into the backseat through the passenger side. _Great, now she's going to ignore me._

The ride home was filled with an awkward silence that made Yashiro grateful to be dropped off. Once he had exited the car he mouthed "Good luck" to Ren before heading into his apartment.

Ren watched Kyoko in the rearview. "Did you want to climb into the front?" he offered.

Kyoko stared out the window keeping silent. Ren could feel his heart aching the rest of the way home. She didn't usually stay angry with him for long but Ren still feared she might leave again.

 _Like Yashiro pointed out, at least she's coming home._ He tried to encourage himself.

Ren didn't attempt to speak with Kyoko again until after they had entered their apartment. He grabbed her hand as she walked briskly through the living room. She tried to pull her hand away but he refused to let go. She looked up at him angry tears forming in her amber eyes.

"Kyoko, I'm sorry. Please just talk to me." Ren pleaded.

"What do you want me to say, Ren?" she asked, "That it was a mistake. That we shouldn't have tried to tell people so soon. We were humiliated on live television and I couldn't do anything about it." She pulled her hand away again and this time Ren released his grip.

"I'm going to go take a bath, then I'll be going to bed." She told him before turning and exiting the living room.

Ren sat on the couch and rested his head in his hands. He knew she was right. He had pressured her into a situation she wasn't ready for and now they were worse off because of it.

He sighed as he thought about what to do. "Well first things first, I need to call Tsubasa-san." He pulled out his phone and dialed her office number since that was the only number he had. A secretary answered the phone.

"Hello, Tsubasa Amu's office, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak with Tsubasa-san." Ren started quickly. He was frustrated and had forgotten to give a proper introduction.

"I'm sorry, sir. She's not in the office currently." She replied in a bored voice.

"Can you forward me to her personal line? This is Tsuruga Ren, I was on her show today and I have some complaints." He explained in a commanding voice.

"Tsuruga Ren?!" the girl exclaimed. "Um, of course. Right away, sir. Just a moment." There were several moments of beeping as she clicked buttons and then a new ringing.

"Hello, Tsubasa here." The producer greeted Ren.

"This is Tsuruga Ren." He said struggling to keep calm.

"Ah, Tsuruga-san. Thank you so much for coming on our show tonight. I am sorry I couldn't stay to watch your segment but I heard the news, congratulations."

"Thank you. Did you also perhaps hear how your interviewer, Risa-san, embarrassed my future wife by asking inappropriate questions for a live interview?" his tone was harsh.

Tsubasa became more business like. "I heard that certain implications may have been made but that Kyoko-san handled it well."

Ren could feel himself losing control. "Tsubasa-san, I picked your show for this announcement because I trusted you and your staff to handle it delicately. I could have gone to anyone to give our first interview to, but I chose you. And I was repaid with an inexperienced interviewer who had no tact. Kyoko is not used to having so much attention on her so I was hoping to ease her into it. Instead I was unable to prepare her for the kind of questions and rumors she faced. I had expected those questions from tabloids not your staff." He took a breath to calm himself, although he did feel a bit better after venting.

"I am sorry, Tsuruga-san. To you and Kyoko-san. I will have a talk with Risa about her behavior. What else can I do to fix this? We'd love to have Kyoko back another time." It was obvious she had realized how offended one of her top stars was. She either fixed it now or lost a good business connection.

"I want a written apology to Kyoko, from Risa-san. Also, you could send her an engagement gift. That may help smooth things over. As for another interview, I'll have to talk to Kyoko about that."

Leaving to take a bath had been Kyoko's way of not crying in front of Ren. She still felt humiliated by the interview but now she felt worse for how she had treated him. As she dressed into her pajamas she sighed. "I just hated that I made him look bad because of my inexperience, but I still shouldn't have reacted like that." She scolded herself.

As Kyoko stepped into the hallway, she heard Ren's voice. He sounded angry and it was rare to hear him talking to someone in that tone. She stood listening and felt her heart soar hearing him defend her. _So I wasn't being silly. She was out of line, and Ren was angry._ She hurried forward and wrapped her arms around Ren from behind. He looked down in surprise, but smiled when he saw her hugging him tightly, wet hair and all.

"Thank you for your time, Tsubasa-san." Ren continued talking into the phone. "Yes, I'll let you know. Have a good night." He hung up the phone and smiled at Kyoko.

"I take it you heard that." He asked.

She laughed quietly. "Yes, I did." She beckoned him down to her and grabbing his shirt, pulled his lips to her own. "Thank you, Ren. I'm sorry for getting angry with you before. I was just embarrassed."

Ren nodded, "I know. And I'm sorry I didn't do anything to help during the interview. I was afraid that me stepping in might make you look bad. Also," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was pretty sure I would've bitten Risa-san's head off if I tried to talk to her right then. How dare she imply anything negative about my future wife."

He lifted Kyoko into his arms and kissed her again. "I love you, Kyoko. And I am so happy that you are going to be my wife." He whispered as he held her.

"I love you too." Kyoko murmured against his chest.

* * *

The next day Kyoko went to work on a commercial she had been offered. It was a simple commercial for shoes and she was only one of the actors in it. Most people she saw greeted her with congratulations on her engagement. She didn't fail to notice that some people had been friendlier to her since realizing she would be marrying Japan's top actor. While others seemed to be ignoring her.

When she finished filming and went to sit down she pulled out her phone. "Let's see if I have any messages from work." She muttered opening it.

An alert popped up. "One missed call… Oh, there's a voicemail." Kyoko dialed her voicemail and listened to the new message.

"Hi, Kyoko-chan. It's Yukia. Is it true? I mean, it's all over the magazines so it must be, but you haven't called to tell me anything so I thought maybe it wasn't. Are you really marrying Ren-san?"

Another voice interrupted Yukia's excited ranting. "Yukia, calm down. You shouldn't leave messages like that." It was James' voice scolding his boyfriend in the background.

Yukia returned to the message, his voice a little more subdued. "Sorry, Kyoko-chan. I didn't mean to overreact. But please call me as soon as possible. I want to know everything! Bye!"

Kyoko couldn't help but smile at the strange message she had received from her friend. "I guess I never did say anything to him. And apparently, Ren didn't either." She mused as she dialed back his number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hi, Yukia-kun. It's Kyoko. Did you want to meet and talk?"

An hour later, Kyoko, Yukia, and James all settled into the back of a bustling café. Luckily, because of the crowds no one had paid much attention to them. As soon as they had sat down with their snacks and drinks, Yukia looked at Kyoko expectantly.

She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She said.

Yukia pouted, "I was beginning to think we weren't friends anymore if you announced it to the world before me."

James elbowed Yukia in the side. "Stop teasing Kyoko-chan and just congratulate her." He scolded.

Yukia scowled at his boyfriend before turning back to Kyoko with a smile. "I am happy for you and Ren-san. Can I see your ring?"

Kyoko nodded and held out her hand to him. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." Yukia whispered, examining the delicate ring. "The blue stones… is that?"

She nodded again, "Yes. It's the stone he had given me when we were kids. He had them put it into our rings." She smiled down at the ring on her finger. "It really is an special ring."

Yukia glanced at James, both of them smiling at seeing their friend so happy.

Time passed with Kyoko telling them about Ren's proposal, and followed by her describing the horrific interview of the night before. Yukia stared at her in shock when Kyoko described the questions she had been asked.

"She really asked you something like that?" he asked. He glanced at James. "That's so…" he gave an irritated grunt.

"Sometimes, reporters and hosts will ask more controversial questions in order to raise their popularity." James explained. "Although, she may have also been jealous of you, Kyoko-chan."

Yukia nodded, "That's true. Your career is really taking off and you are getting more and more popular. Plus now you're marrying a man who most of Japan would love to be with." He commented.

Kyoko blushed at his statement. She knew she had become more well known recently, but to think that someone else could be jealous of her small success surprised her. She shook her head, unable to understand people's thought processes.

"How is the drama going then?" James asked.

"Well, I'm not sure about our co-star, Yamato Suoh is his name. He's a bit, well, arrogant. I'm just not sure how easy it'll be to work with him. Especially since he seems to have taken a little bit of an interest in me." Kyoko told them, feeling embarrassed.

Yukia's eyebrows raised. "Have you talked to Ren-san about it?"

She shook her head. "I get the feeling he already dislikes him enough. I don't want to make it any worse. So far, I think I can handle him."

"Be sure to let us know if you need anything. We'll be happy to help." James offered with a smile.

"Thank you. Both of you." Kyoko said, then she realized something and jumped. "Yukia-kun! I am so sorry. I keep talking about myself and haven't asked how you are doing?"

He laughed, "Kyoko-chan, I was the one who asked you to tell me. " he told her. "As far as my career… things are going really great. An up and coming fashion company asked me to model for them. I'm going on location for a shoot starting tomorrow and I'll be gone through Tuesday."

"Wow! That's amazing, Yukia-kun! I am so happy for you." She congratulated him.

"You start filming on Monday, right?" he asked.

Kyoko nodded, "Yes, I am hoping things will go well. I feel good about my character."

"Well, when I get back we should get together so you can tell me all about it." Yukia said happily.

"Definitely!" Kyoko agreed. "And you can tell me about your modeling."

They finished their desserts and then said good bye. Kyoko climbed into a taxi and headed home. Even though she felt she was mostly prepared for her role, she still wanted to review the script and manga before the first day of filming.

 _I feel like this is going to go really well._ She thought to herself as the taxi drove. _I just hope I'm able to act on the same level as Ren and Suoh-kun. The last thing I want is to embarrass myself and Ren again._

When she arrived at home, she began cooking dinner while reading her script. _It'll definitely be weird to be acting as a little sister again. I wonder if I'll be able to pull off playing the cute little sister._

She returned to the script after lowering the flame on the stove. "One more time through, and then I think I'll be ready!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it. This one took a lot of work but i finally got it done. Next chapter will finally begin the drama! Im super excited. :) see you soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A New Onii-chan

Monday arrived far too quickly for Kyoko, and unfortunately for her she had to arrive on set by herself at eleven in the morning. Ren had had a photo shoot early in the morning and would be arriving to the filming after Kyoko.

She hurried to the studio after being stuck in traffic and arrived five minutes late. Once on the set she quickly found the director.

"I am sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic." She said, bowing.

The director smiled and gave a small laugh. "Don't worry, Kyoko-san. We still have plenty of time to do your hair and make up and get you into wardrobe."

Kyoko's worry melted away. "I am glad. Thank you, director-san."

A few moments later, an assistant whisked her away to a hair and make up room. She was immediately seated in a chair and a girl with purple hair approached her.

"Hi, Kyoko-chan. I am Hina, you're hair and make up artist." The girl introduced herself.

Kyoko grinned, "Please take care of me." She replied with a bow of her head.

"Well," Hina started, "For your hair we have a wig prepared. So I'll just need to get this put up." She quickly pulled Kyoko's hair up into a tight bun. "Next we'll start on your make up. The director said to make you look young, so nothing heavy. I am going to keep it as natural as possible."

Kyoko was happy to feel immediately relaxed around her new make up girl. Hina liked to explain what she was doing and her reasons as she went along and Kyoko found it very interesting.

Finally forty-five minutes later, Kyoko had full make up done. Hina stepped away to get a box and returned a moment later. She smiled at Kyoko. "Are you ready to see your wig?"

The young actress nodded enthusiastically. When Hina opened the box she pulled out a long blonde wig. The strands of hair were curled elegantly and the front had short straight bangs.

Seeing it, Kyoko reached out a hand and stroked her new curls. "It's beautiful," she murmured.

"Isn't it though?" Hina agreed. She secured the wig atop Kyoko's hair and pulled the curls up into two high pigtails. Then she decorated them each with a light purple ribbon. "Perfect!"

Kyoko stared at herself in the mirror. _Well, I certainly don't look like myself. And I do look younger._ She tilted her head, examining the way her blonde hair moved. _I'd never guess that Hana-chan was eighteen._ She thought with a smile.

"Thank you, Hina-chan." Kyoko said with a bow. She left the make up room and headed to wardrobe where they provided her with her new clothes.

She spun around in front of the mirror examining her new clothes which were far different from her usual roles. She was wearing a short white lace skirt, paired with a short sleeved light purple button up shirt. On her feet she wore light purple knee-highs with white tennis shoes.

Looking in the mirror, she didn't even recognize herself. _So this is how Hana-chan dresses._ She thought with amazement.

"Here's your bag, Kyoko-chan," one of the assistants said, handing her a purple purse shaped like a cat face.

Kyoko looked at it and struggled not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. "Am I all set then?" she asked.

The wardrobe staff did a final check before sending her out to the set. Kyoko felt strange in these clothes. They were so different from anything she owned. _I feel like a completely different person._ She thought with a laugh.

Just then she spotted Ren and Yashiro across the studio. Kyoko sprinted over to them excitedly, her blonde curls bouncing.

"Yashiro-san! Ren!" she called out stopping before them. "How do I look?" she asked.

Ren stared at the girl in front of him. At first, he hadn't recognized his fiancée.

"Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro squealed, "You look so different."

She beamed, "I know. They did an amazing job. I didn't even recognize myself at first."

Ren laughed, "You look great. Why don't you twirl around?" he suggested.

She did and Ren was even more astounded by how different she looked. _They really went all out making her look young…_ he thought, feeling slightly awkward.

Just then they were joined by the remaining lead star of the drama. Suoh approached them with a grin. "Is that my little sister that I see there?" he asked approaching them. He was already dressed in his wardrobe for the filming and had his hair and make up done.

Kyoko bowed to him politely. "Good morning, Suoh-kun. I look forward to acting with you today."

"Same here." He replied, then he turned to Ren. "Oh, I think they are ready to do your hair. Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep Kyoko-chan company while you're busy." He gave a wink to Kyoko.

Kyoko watched as Ren's eyes darkened, she expected him to say something to Suoh but was glad when he only smiled his deathly smile. "All right then." He turned to Kyoko. "I'll be right back, Kyoko." Ren then leaned down and gave Kyoko a quick but passionate kiss on her lips. He gave a pointed look towards Suoh before walking away to make up. Kyoko could feel her face flush red.

Suoh laughed quietly. "He doesn't take too kindly to me flirting with you, does he?" he asked.

Kyoko smiled sweetly at him in her own rendition of Ren's fake smile. "Well, I don't know too many people who take kindly to their future spouse being flirted with in front of them." She replied in a serious tone.

Suoh raised his eyebrows in surprise. He really hadn't expected her to resist him. But then again, maybe she was just playing hard to get. He leaned over to her ear. "So I should only flirt with you when he's not around then. Okay!" he winked at her again then stepped away when the director waved him over, leaving a stunned and irritated Kyoko Mogami in his wake.

When filming started the director called everyone together. "Thank you all for being here! First we'll start with the opening scenes. We'll be cutting together Kyoko-san's scene with Ren-san and Suoh-san's scene. Let's start by filming Hana's scene first." He finished explaining and everyone got into place.

Kyoko's first scene's were mostly her walking down the sidewalk. They had decided to film these twice, once in the studio and then again when they went on location. As she began acting Ren stood by himself to the side. Yashiro had stepped out to take a phone call, when Ren heard footsteps he assumed the manager had returned. Instead, he turned to find Suoh.

"Excited to start filming?" Suoh asked.

Ren nodded. "Very."

Suoh and Ren looked out on the set as Kyoko skipped along down the fake sidewalk. "She looks so cute, doesn't she?" Suoh asked.

Ren glanced at his co-star and found he didn't appreciate the compliment after seeing the lustful look in his eyes. "She is a very talented actress who is able to adapt to her roles well." He replied sternly.

The older man just nodded. "I can see that."

When Kyoko had finished her scenes, it was time for Ren and Suoh to begin. They got on set with a few extras to make the campus look busy. The two began walking across the campus talking about classes. They stopped when they heard footsteps behind them. Suoh turned around first to look and was immediately greeted by a young girl throwing her arms around him.

"Onii-chan!" Hana cried, hugging him tightly.

He looked down at her in surprise. "Hana? What are you doing here?" Keiji asked. He pulled her away from him.

Yusei stared at them awkwardly. He didn't know who this random girl was that had suddenly hugged his best friend. Meanwhile, Ren was trying to figure out why that action of hers had looked so familiar to him.

"Um, Keiji-kun, who is this?" Yusei asked finally.

Keiji smiled at his friend. "This," he said putting an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Is my little sister, Hana."

Hana smiled at Yusei. "Hello, nice to meet you." She greeted him.

Yusei bowed his head slightly. "It's nice to meet you too."

Keiji turned back to his sister. "Oh yeah, you never explained. What are you doing here?"

Hana blushed, "Well," she began, staring at her feet shyly. "I enrolled here. Today is my first day." She looked up and smiled sweetly.

Yusei's eyes went wide. "Wait. You're a college student?!" He exclaimed.

Hana giggled but nodded. "I just turned eighteen."

Keiji hugged her. "Well, this is great! Now I get to go to college with my two favorite people." After a few moments, he released her, "Well, we'd better show you to the main office so you can get settled before classes start tomorrow."

Keiji and Yusei began to walk toward the main building. Hana glared at Yusei's back. There was one reason she had come to this school, and that was to take Yusei's place as Keiji's favorite person.

"And cut!" the director called.

Kyoko hurried over to Ren. "How was that?" she asked him eagerly.

He smiled at her, "It was-"

"Great, Kyoko-chan! Everything I'd expect from my new little sister." Suoh praised her. He reached out and patted her head.

Ren bit back a growl that threatened to escape his throat. Kyoko stepped away, moving back from Suoh's reach.

She laughed awkwardly. "Well, thank you. I felt really good about that scene." She replied.

While the director went over the footage, he told them to take a five minute break. Kyoko stepped away and checked her phone. There she saw a text from Yukia.

" _How's filming going? I was thinking we could go out on a double date when I get back. Let me know when you and Ren-san are available. Good luck!_ "

Kyoko smiled down at the text. _That'll be good. Maybe eating with friends will distract him from having to deal with Suoh-kun._

Finally, filming wrapped up around seven-thirty. Kyoko said good bye to the assistants and other actresses she had met before, then headed over to where Ren and Yashiro were waiting. Before she reached them, she was stopped by Suoh.

"Kyoko-chan," he greeted her.

"Um, thank you for your work today. I'll see you tomorrow." She said with a bow.

He chuckled, "Thanks for working so hard. I wanted to give you this." He held out his business card to her. "Feel free to call me if you need any help rehearsing. I'm happy to help in any way I can." He gave her a wink before walking away.

Kyoko glanced down at the card in her hands. _Why does he keep hitting on me? Last year, I would have just thought he was being friendly, but now I know he's being creepy._ She shivered, then continued over to where Ren was waiting.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, having seen Suoh stop her.

She forced a smile. "Yeah. Suoh-kun just gave me his card in case I need anything." She explained holding up the card.

"If you'd like, Kyoko-chan," Yashiro spoke up. "I could hang onto that for you. I have sort of become your honorary manager."

Kyoko felt relieved as she handed it over to Yashiro. "Thank you, Yashiro-san."

As they walked to the car, Kyoko had a thought. "Yashiro-san, since it's still early, would you like to come over for dinner?"

Yashiro's eyes widened in surprise. "I'd love to! It's always a pleasure to eat food prepared by Kyoko-chan!" he exclaimed. Then he cleared his throat, "Um, that is… if Ren doesn't mind."

Ren laughed and patted his manager's shoulder. "It's fine. She makes too much for just us anyway."

Once they had arrived at the apartment, Kyoko volunteered to go buy groceries for dinner.

"Here, I'll come with you." Ren offered.

Kyoko shook her head, "No, you should stay here with Yashiro-san. I'm only going to the shop in the building. I'll be back soon."

Ren gave in, "All right. Here then." He handed her his wallet. "Be careful." He gave her a kiss on the cheek that made her face burn, preventing her from denying the money he had given her.

Kyoko hurried from the apartment, leaving Ren alone with his manager.

"Would you like some tea?" Ren offered.

Yashiro nodded and waited on the couch while Ren stepped into the kitchen. He looked around the apartment. It had been a while since he'd been there to visit. _I don't know what it is, but it certainly feels brighter in here. Maybe that's just because they are both so happy._ He mused silently.

Ren reentered the room and set a tray of tea on the table.

"Thank you," Yashiro said. "So, how did you feel about today's filming?" he asked, taking a sip from his cup.

Ren poured his own tea. "It went well, overall. There weren't too many retakes."

Yashiro nodded, "Kyoko-chan did very well. It seemed like she was able to get into her role quite easily."

"I'd imagine that means she found some inspiration for the role." Ren agreed.

"I think it was fairly obvious who her inspiration was." Yashiro commented with a laugh.

Ren raised his eyebrows. "It was?"

Yashiro covered his mouth with a hand as he struggled not to laugh at Ren's obliviousness. When he saw the actor glaring at him he quieted. "Well, I assumed she was basing her character off of Maria-chan. For instance, the way Hana-chan hugged her brother was similar to the way Maria-chan hugs you."

Yashiro laughed again at the surprised look on Ren's face. Ren took a long drink of his tea. _I guess that would make sense,_ he thought, _that explains why it felt familiar._

"By the way, Ren. What do you want me to do with this?" Yashiro held up the business card Kyoko had given him.

"Do whatever you think is best as her manager."

Yashiro nodded and tucked it back inside of his planner. "Do you think everything will be okay? With her being around him."

Ren sighed, "I think so. Kyoko isn't oblivious to it so that helps. But I do have one concern."

"What's that?"

"I know I have a day in a couple of weeks when she'll be on set with him and I won't. I want you to go with Kyoko and make sure she's safe. I'm hoping he isn't the type to do something stupid that would hurt his career, but I'd feel better if you were with her." Ren explained, staring into his nearly empty cup.

Yashiro nodded seriously. "You can count on me, Ren. I will protect Kyoko-chan."

Just then they heard the door open and looked up to see Kyoko. She was carrying several shopping bags and both men hurried to help her with them. Ren had to admit he felt a bit better knowing Yashiro would be with Kyoko when he couldn't be, but he'd feel even better if it wasn't a necessary precaution.

After dinner, Yashiro took a taxi home leaving the young couple by themselves. Kyoko helped Ren do the dishes, feeling pleased with the many compliments she had received from Yashiro about her cooking.

"Oh! I almost forgot," she exclaimed suddenly. "Yukia-kun asked if we'd like to go out with him and James-san soon. Like a double date."

Ren nodded. "That sounds fun. I'll have Yashiro check our schedules."

Kyoko smiled, "Yukia-kun has started modeling now, maybe you could give him some tips." She suggested as she dried the last of the dishes.

"I'd be happy to," Ren replied.

"I think I'm going to take a quick shower before bed," Kyoko said with a big yawn.

Ren chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "That sounds like a good idea." He tilted Kyoko's face up towards his own. "And Kyoko, I want you to make sure your careful at work. I'm concerned about all the attention Suoh-kun has been giving you."

Kyoko smiled, "Don't worry. He is a flirt, but he seems harmless." She pulled away and headed to the bathroom. After climbing into the shower she began to wash her hair, scrubbing at it furiously.

 _Why does Suoh-kun have to touch my hair?_ She thought, feeling frustrated. _I can't get rid of the disgusting feeling it gave me._ She rinsed her hair before applying a second coat of shampoo. She just hoped that something would happen soon to prevent Suoh from treating her with such affection.

She climbed out of the shower and stared at her reflection in the mirror. "C'mon, Kyoko. You can do this. Everything is going to be fine."

* * *

 **A/N: I did my best to get you the chapter on time this week so here it is! I hope you enjoyed the first scenes of the drama. Also just as a sidenote, i based Kyoko's character of Hana's appearance on Lizzie from Black Butler. (AAs was guessed by one of my reviewers a few chapters ago.) Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Flirts & Friends

Several days of filming passed and after a one day break they were at it again. Kyoko was finding Suoh to be exhausting with his constant attempts to flirt with her. As they rode in the elevator to the studio, Kyoko allowed herself to get lost in her own thoughts.

 _Suoh-kun has been relentless with flirting. Although, he mostly avoids talking to me in front of Ren._ She sighed, _At least I don't have too many scenes with him today. And almost all of our scenes are the three of us._

"What are you smiling about?" Ren asked as they stepped off the elevator with Yashiro.

Kyoko looked surprised, "Oh, nothing. I'm just looking forward to filming today."

Ren smiled at her, "That's right. We have several scenes together today, don't we?"

Yashiro cleared his throat as they reached the studio entrance. "If you two lovebirds are done flirting…"

Ren rolled his eyes at his manager but opened the door for Kyoko to enter the studio. He really didn't mind being interrupted by Yashiro so much. _After all, I still get to see her when I get home too. Although tonight we have Yukia-kun, and James-san coming over._

Upon entering the studio, Ren spotted Suoh already dressed and talking to the director. Suoh looked at him, their eyes meeting, and smirked at Ren before returning to his conversation. _What is he up to now?_ Ren wondered, groaning inwardly.

"I'm heading into hair and make up," Kyoko told him. He noticed she was watching him with concern and forced a smile.

"All right, I'll see you in a bit." He replied with a wave.

After Kyoko was out of earshot, Yashiro spoke up. "Are you worried about why Yamato-san was talking to the director?"

Ren nodded. "Hopefully, it won't be anything to worry about."

Once everyone was in costume, they all met out on the set. The director was giving a quick run through before beginning filming.

"First scene is scene 2G with Ren-san and Kyoko-san. Then we'll move on to scenes 3D through 3G. And after lunch, we'll try an improvised scene for the beginning of episode three, as suggested by Suoh-san. Let's get started!"

Everyone began to get into place when the director had finished speaking. Kyoko glanced at Ren. "An improvised scene?" she asked.

Ren nodded, "It is a little strange to suddenly add a scene."

* * *

Yusei was jogging through a nearby park. It was late at night but he found he did his best thinking at that time. The last few days had been crazy with starting another year of school and Keiji's sister suddenly showing up. He slowed his running to take a break. "On top of that, it really seems like she doesn't like me." He muttered.

He looked up and saw a familiar figure nearby. "Is that Hana-chan?" He casually moved towards her. As he got closer he noticed she was talking on the phone.

"Yeah. His name is Yusei." She said into the phone. "No, he really isn't special. In fact, I think he's rather annoying. I don't understand why my brother would want to spend all his time with him."

Yusei was stunned at the way Hana talked. Up until now she had seemed like a sweet, shy girl who had an overattachment to her big brother. He watched until she hung up the phone before stepping forward to approach her. But just as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder…

"Get your hands off of me, you freakin' perv!" Hana shouted as she spun and kicked, knocking her attacker to the ground. She stared down at the man lying on the ground below her.

Her eyes widened as she realized it was her brother's best friend. "Yusei-san! I am so sorry!" she cried out helping him to his feet.

 _Well, she seems to be back to normal._ He thought, as he wondered what kind of girl she really was.

* * *

Most of the day's filming passed easily, and soon enough lunch was over. Kyoko felt a knot in her stomach as she worried over what the improvised scene would be. As they waited to film the next scene, an assistant handed both Ren and Kyoko a slip of paper.

Kyoko looked down at it. "Improvised Scene: Hana-chan goes to Keiji-nii's dorm room to wake him up." She glanced at Ren.

His face had stiffened as he read the added scene. _Of course, he would add an extra scene for him to be with her._ He thought irritatably.

"Are you in the scene too then?" Kyoko asked him.

Just then, Suoh popped up behind them. "Of course, Ren-kun would be. After all, Keiji and Yusei share a room." He ruffled Ren's hair, "See you on set!" he called before walking away.

Ren fought the urge to glare after Suoh. Instead, he turned to Kyoko who he could tell was fighting nervousness. He reached out and touched her cheek. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.

A few minutes later, both Ren and Suoh were in place, while Kyoko stood off camera with the director. The dorm room had been set with a bunk bed that both boys slept in.

"Go on in. Just remember you are waking up your dear onii-chan for school. Do whatever you feel comes natural for Hana-chan." The director encouraged before calling "Action!"

Kyoko moved across the set and to the bottom bunk where she knew her "brother" would be sleeping. She tried to let Hana take control.

"Onii-chan! It's time to wake up for school," she called out to him sweetly as she tugged the blankets away from his face.

She leaned in closer and grabbed his arm. "Onii-chan!" she called out.

Suddenly, two strong arms reached out and pulled her onto the bed. Suoh pulled her close to his body under the thick covers. He leaned close to her and Kyoko felt her whole body go stiff. _What is he doing?!_ She thought in a panic.

She could feel Suoh's breath on her neck. "You smell wonderful," he whispered before allowing his tongue to flick out against her neck.

Kyoko let out a small cry of surprise and disgust.

Hearing Kyoko make that sound, caused Ren's concern to grow and he decided to act. He leaned over the edge of his bed until he was nearly hanging upside down. The sight below him was the last thing he wanted to see. His soon to be wife lying in the bed of another man and wrapped tightly in his arms. And worst of all, he could tell she was terrified.

"Keiji!" Ren called out, he threw a perfectly aimed pillow at the other man's head. "What the hell do you think you're doing to your sister?" he hoped all of that had looked okay as acting.

Keiji sat up halfway and looked at Hana. He raised his eyebrows as if surprised to see her there. Then he looked up at Yusei with a laugh, "Sorry, Hana. I thought you were that guy." He joked.

Hana huffed feeling upset that her brother's first thoughts were of his friend and not her. "Onii-chan, if you don't get up we'll miss breakfast." She said pouting.

Keiji laughed. "All right. All right. You head on down and we'll meet you there in a few." He gave her hand a quick squeeze with his own before letting her leave the room.

"And cut!" the director called. "I think that this will be a great addition to the scenes we already have. Let's shoot it again from the top."

When the filming was done, Kyoko felt disgusting. Suoh had used the retake to hold her a bit closer the second time and now she couldn't shake the feeling of his hands. She hurried into the bathroom on set and scrubbed at her neck with a hot damp paper towel.

 _Who does he think he is doing and saying stuff like that while we are working?_ She thought frantically. She left the spot on the side of her neck red by the time she was satisfied.

Unfortunately, when she left the bathroom, she found Suoh waiting for her.

"The men's bathroom is on the other hall." She informed him in what she hoped was a cold tone and not a scared one.

He chuckled. "Kyoko-chan, I just wanted to clear up what happened earlier. That was all a joke. You just seemed too stiff so I thought I'd help loosen you up." He winked at her.

Kyoko felt her face flush with anger, but before she could say anything Yashiro came hurrying down the hall. "Kyoko-chan, I was looking everywhere for you. Ren asked me to see you home since you're finished for the day."

Kyoko's anger faded. "Oh, thank you, Yashiro-san." She turned back to Suoh and gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your work today. I'll be leaving now."

Suoh gave a small wave. "See you later, Kyoko-chan."

* * *

That evening, Ren drove home after what had been a very stressful day of work. After dealing with Suoh for most of the day, Ren had been unable to shake his bad mood. _Kyoko is home already. Probably cooking dinner and just wanting to relax. I need to calm down._ He reminded himself as he parked his car. But when he headed into the lobby of the apartment building, he spotted two familiar faces.

"Yukia-kun, James-san!" Ren called out. The two men turned around at hearing their names.

Yukia's face broke into a smile. "Ren-san, thank goodness!"

 _I can't believe I completely forgot they were coming over._ Ren thought, chiding himself inwardly.

The pair approached Ren, looking relieved to see him. "Was something the matter?" Ren asked.

Yukia blushed and stayed silent, leaving his boyfriend to answer. "It seems Yukia forgot to write down the apartment number. And they wouldn't tell us at the desk because of security reasons."

Ren chuckled, "You could have called Kyoko." He teased.

"I didn't want to bother her if she was busy." Yukia answered.

"Well, you can come up with me now then." Ren offered as he led them to the elevator. He could already feel his bad mood starting to fade away after talking with friends.

"So how did filming go today?" Yukia asked once the elevator had begun its ascent.

Ren stiffened at the question. He forced a sparkly smile, "It was fine."

Yukia gave a sideways glance at James who nodded slightly, silently agreeing not to broach the subject quite yet.

The rest of the ride was silent until the elevator dinged at their floor and they all departed. When they reached the apartment, Ren entered first. He stepped into the kitchen and found Kyoko organizing ingredients on the counter. A small smile appeared on his face, this time a sincere one, at the sight of Kyoko. She seemed most happy when cooking. The only thing that topped it, was when she acted.

"Kyoko, I'm home. Yukia-kun and James-san are here as well." He called out.

She spun around in surprise. "Welcome home!" she greeted him cheerfully.

Just then their guests popped around the corner as well. "Hello, Kyoko-chan!" Yukia greeted.

She smiled at both him and James. "It's good to see you again! I'm just preparing dinner if you all want to sit and have a drink."

"Do you need any help?" James asked, taking a step into the kitchen. Kyoko was about to refuse, insisting he go relax but she remembered how happy he had seemed to cook when they had gotten together before.

"Thank you, James-san. You're tall like Ren so that would be helpful."

Ren made a face. "She never lets me help." He muttered to Yukia.

The younger man laughed, happy to see Ren seemed to have cheered up. "Shall we leave them to it then?"

Ren nodded, "Just let me grab us something to drink. Are you okay with cold tea?"

"Anything is fine," Yukia replied.

After grabbing a tray and some glasses, Ren carried a pitcher of cold tea into the living room. The two actors sat down on the couch and Ren poured them each a glass.

"So, Kyoko had mentioned that you've started modeling." Ren said, taking control of the conversation.

Yukia nodded, "Yes. A newer fashion designer scouted me to be the face of their brand. Actually, what I'm wearing right now is some of their stuff. They gave it to me to keep after the photoshoot."

Ren chuckled at how excited the younger man sounded. "I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it. Modeling is a lot of hard work, but it can be very enjoyable."

"Are you and Kyoko enjoying your new drama?" Yukia's question caused Ren to choke on his drink.

"Well, I would assume Kyoko has mentioned some of it to you."

"Yes, she has. She mentioned a troublesome co-star." Yukia commented. He didn't miss the rare scowl that occupied Ren's face. "Has it been that bad?"

* * *

While Yukia and Ren talked in the living room, Kyoko and James prepared dinner and put it in the oven. "I had thought I'd try a western meal since you both could give me your opinions on it." Kyoko explained.

James smiled, "I had thought it was a bit strange that you would suddenly cook a western dinner. I look forward to trying it."

As they cleaned some of the dishes from their prep work, James decided to try discussing the subject he knew Yukia would be discussing at that very moment. "Kyoko-chan, how is work going?"

Kyoko paused in her movement of drying a mixing bowl. "Actually, things have been going very well." She lied. "For the most part, everything has been going smoothly."

James noticed that Kyoko's hands had started to shake. He reached out and took the bowl from her, setting it on the counter. "Kyoko-chan," he said softly as he looked into her eyes. "You know Yukia and I are here for you. And I'm sure Ren-san and Yashiro-san would be happy to listen to your concerns as well."

Kyoko shook her head. "They both are already taking such good care of me. I don't want to burden them anymore than I already have."

James smiled sweetly at her. To him, she was like a sweet little sister who he wanted to help protect. He took her hand and led her to the dining table. Then he moved back across the kitchen and began preparing some hot water for tea. Kyoko sat silently until the warm cup of tea was placed in her hands.

"Now, will you please tell me what is upsetting you?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for your patience for this new chapter! If you've read my outlaws AU oor profile you already know why it's so late. My phone decided to stop working and then it took forever to get a new one. I hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

 **Thank you!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Comforting Arms

Kyoko stared down at the cup of tea in her hands. She had tried to be strong and handle things on her own so far. Really, she didn't want to worry anybody. Ren had enough to worry about and so did every one else. But James' question had hit her hard.

"I didn't tell Ren because I didn't want him to worry more than he already is. Also I was worried he might do something he shouldn't." She whispered, as they sat in the kitchen.

James watched Kyoko with concern, what was so bad that she worried Ren would lose control? "We all just want to protect you." He reassured her.

She took a deep breath. "I know I told you and Yukia-kun about Suoh-kun the last time we talked, but it's gotten worse. He isn't just flirting anymore. He-" she paused trying to find the right words. "Today during filming, he used our roles as an excuse to get close to me. And he… he licked me."

James could see that Kyoko's eyes were rapidly filling with tears. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his jeans pocket and handed it to her. "It's not right that you have to go through that." He told her, his tone serious. "Maybe you could talk to the director."

She shook her head. "I can't do that. It would just cause more trouble for everyone involved. Please, don't say anything about it to Ren. I can handle this on my own. He shouldn't have to step in just because I am having issues with a co-star."

The older man watched her for a moment, considering her words. "Kyoko-chan , do you remember when Ren-san's secret came out? And you were hurt because you felt he didn't trust you."

The young actress closed her eyes as she realized what James was trying to say. "By keeping this a secret, I'm acting like I don't trust Ren." She said finally.

James nodded, "Exactly."

"So, I should tell him."

"I think you should. I know if Yukia was going through something like this, I'd want him to tell me." he replied. "If you want, Yukia and I can be here while you do. That way if Ren-san does seem to want to act on his emotions, we can help you convince him not to."

"I think I'd like that."

* * *

In the living room, Ren had just finished giving Yukia an explanation of Suoh's behavior towards Kyoko. The younger actor seemed flustered at the thought of someone treating Kyoko badly.

"And today, he got the director to allow an improvised scene between him and Kyoko. I don't know exactly what happened other than that he used it as an excuse to put his arms around her. But Kyoko seemed more effected by it so I have a feeling more happened." Ren finished telling Yukia.

Yukia looked frustrated, then his eyes lit up. "Why don't you do what Leo did when he found out Satoshi was stalking Kimi?" he suggested.

Ren was confused for a moment before he understood Yukia's idea. "I don't know that I can challenge him to a duel."

The light haired actor tried to hide his disappointment. "Well, it could work." He mumbled. "Actually, given how you acted when you thought I was after Kyoko-chan, I'm kind of surprised you haven't done anything."

Ren laughed, "I'm trying not to get too involved, unless Kyoko asks me too. She wants me to let her handle her own problems." He frowned, "No matter how difficult that may be."

Just then, James leaned out of the kitchen. "Dinner is ready, if you two want to come to the table." He told them before disappearing again.

Ren turned back to Yukia, "Thank you for talking with me. It has helped me to feel a bit better." He stood to his feet. "Now, let's go eat."

* * *

After dinner, the four sat in the living room eating cookies Kyoko had baked and drinking coffee. Kyoko nervously sipped her drink as she waited for the right moment to bring up the day's events with Ren.

"Ren-san," James spoke suddenly, startling Kyoko. "There is something that I think should be discussed."

Ren looked surprised but nodded. He took another drink of his coffee before setting it on the table. "What's this about?"

James nodded towards Kyoko, giving her the cue to begin. She winced at the thought of how Ren would react. "I was talking to James-san earlier and he made me realize that I should rely on you more concerning my problems with Suoh-kun."

Ren stiffened, glancing toward James who only nodded. "It's not just your problem, so I'd have to agree. It's our problem."

"I am starting to realize that." Kyoko muttered.

Yukia glanced at James. "What's going on?" he whispered.

James smiled and placed a finger to his lips.

"Today, during filming, Suoh-kun..." Kyoko's voice faded out as she struggled with what to say. She squeezed her eyes shut then spoke quickly. "He told me I smelled nice and then licked my neck." She blurted it out then wished she had been more tactful when she opened her eyes and saw the look on Ren's face.

Ren was silent as he took in her words. He could feel his stomach clench and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. _So that's what that bastard did to her._

"Ren-san, please sit back down."

It wasn't until James spoke that Ren realized he had risen from the couch, his fists clenched by his sides. "What?" he asked, harsher than he had meant to. "Isn't it only right that I be outraged that he would do something like that to her?"

James nodded, "It is. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm just saying you shouldn't do anything reckless."

Ren glanced towards his fiancée. Kyoko was chewing on her lip nervously while her hands pulled at her skirt. He sighed and dropped back onto the couch, running a hand through his hair.

"Maybe we should go." Yukia suggested, standing up.

Both James and Kyoko looked surprised.

"I think Ren-san and Kyoko-chan should talk privately. And I think we can trust that Ren-san won't do anything impulsive, right?" Yukia asked. He watched Ren for confirmation.

After a moment, Ren agreed. "All right. I will carefully think over any action I plan to take." His voice sounded irritable but Yukia could also hear how tired the older man sounded.

"We'll see ourselves out." James offered.

"No, I'll see you out." Ren replied, standing up again. James was surprised but nodded in response. After a quick good bye to Kyoko, the three men made their way out into the hall. When they reached the door, Yukia waved to Ren.

"Let us know if anything more happens." He said.

"Yes, and if you feel the need to do something reckless, call me." James added seriously.

Ren forced a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to contact you if anything occurs."

He watched them leave, then locked the door after them. Before heading back down the hall Ren took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. _Calm down. If you get worked up again you'll scare Kyoko. At least, she came to you about it this time._

Ren sighed, knowing this was true but still felt the urge to kill his co-star. He walked back down the hall and re-entered the living room. But Kyoko wasn't where he had left her. He also noticed that the tray and cups were missing as well.

As he stepped into the kitchen, Ren could hear the sink running. He stepped over to where Kyoko stood in front of it and reached over her to turn it off. "We weren't done talking," he told her in a low voice.

She spun around, startled by his interruption. "I- I don't know what else to say." She murmured.

Suddenly, Kyoko let out a cry as Ren picked her up and began to carry her over his shoulder into their bedroom.

"Put me down, Ren!" she yelled.

When he reached the bed, he set Kyoko next to it. His arms wrapped tightly around her body, hugging her close. Kyoko enjoyed his warmth and the beat of his heart. After a moment, he pulled away and looked down at her, caressing her cheek with his fingertips.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you today." He whispered.

Kyoko felt her heart squeeze at his sweet words. "It's not your fault." She murmured in return, reaching up to touch his hand.

Ren leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It just drives me crazy that I can't do anything."

"It's better for both of us if you don't get too involved."

Ren sighed, "I know it is." He leaned his head on her shoulder. After a moment, he turned his head and looked at her neck. "Where did he lick you?"

Kyoko was startled by his question. She moved back causing the bed to hit her knees and her to tumble back onto the bed. "Wha- what do you mean?"

He moved to hover over her, staring down into her eyes. "Just tell me." He ordered. His tone was serious but gentle and Kyoko found herself unable to ignore his request.

She lifted a hand and touched a spot on the side of her neck. Ren quickly leaned down, nearly pressing his lips to her ear. "I am going to help you forget what that felt like. I don't ever want you thinking of another man especially because of something like this."

Kyoko gasped as she felt his lips press against the skin she had touched. Warm, tender kisses covered her neck as she laid still, eyes closed. Her eyes flew open though, when Ren's tongue flicked against her neck. He started to suck on the skin and Kyoko forced him away.

He struggled not to look too offended. "What's wrong?"

Her face was warm and Kyoko knew she must be blushing. "If you do that you'll leave a mark." She scolded him.

Ren mentally kicked himself. He should've thought about that. As an actress, Kyoko couldn't be coming to work with visible kiss marks. _Not to mention what people would say. I don't know if Kyoko would be able to handle those rumors._ He sighed but smiled down at her. "Then what about one people can't see?" he asked, mimicking a long forgotten conversation they had shared as the Heel Siblings.

Kyoko's face blushed dark red as she recalled the words Setsu had said to her Nii-san. "Don't joke like that." She muttered turning her face away.

Ren leaned down and placed several kisses along her jawline. "I'm sorry. I'll save those for after the wedding." He said huskily, causing a chill to run through Kyoko.

"I don't know how much more I can blush." Kyoko muttered, avoiding his gaze. She could hear Ren chuckle before he finally moved off of her.

He looked down at her, suddenly very serious. "Just know, I will do my best to protect you. I promise."

Kyoko nodded, "I believe you, Ren. You've always done your best to protect me." She smiled up at him and seeing that smile made Ren kiss her again.

"Maybe you should spend some time with Kotonami-san tomorrow since we don't have the drama filming." He suggested.

"That sounds fun. I don't know if she'd be too busy, but it's worth messaging her." Kyoko agreed.

The rest of their night was filled with spontaneous kisses from Ren, leading all the way up until he fell asleep. Kyoko rolled over and watched his sleeping face. _He must have been really worried._ She thought. "I really am so lucky."

* * *

The following morning, Kyoko headed to LME for her lunch date with Kanae. She had messaged her first thing in the morning and had set to meet at eleven-thirty. Kyoko checked her phone as she stepped into the lobby.

"Eleven-twenty. I'm early." She muttered to herself as she headed to the LoveMe section. She opened the door to the room and was startled to see it was already occupied.

"Sho?" she exclaimed.

He looked up from the papers in front of him, equally surprised to see her. "Kyoko. What are you doing here?"

"Oh. Um, I am meeting Kanae-san in a few minutes for lunch. But I got here early." Kyoko answered. She noted that his guitar wasn't with him. "What are you working on?" she asked, sitting at the table across from him.

"Actually," he scratched the back of his head. "I kind of wanted to talk to you about it. I was thinking of doing some acting."

Kyoko's eyebrows shot up. "Acting?" she asked.

Sho nodded feeling awkward. "Why are you acting so surprised? The head of the singing department said I received an offer for a guest spot on a drama and he said it's a good opportunity."

"I'm sorry. I just didn't think you had any interest in acting." She replied.

"I didn't either. But now that it happened, why not?" he glanced at the papers in front of him. "Got any advice for me about becoming an actor?" he asked.

"Well," Kyoko thought about what she could tell him. _If he was the old Shotaro, he'd probably be just like Suoh-kun._ She looked at him seriously. "Never be the kind of actor who uses his position to harass a girl who has made it perfectly clear that she has no interest in you. Just leave her alone and focus on your work." She spoke quickly before pausing to take a breath.

"What the hell?" Sho asked, confused by her abnormal advice.

Before Kyoko could reply, the door opened. Kanae entered the room, glancing for a second at Sho before focusing on her friend. "You ready?" she asked.

Kyoko nodded and jumped up, skipping over to Kanae. As the door closed behind them, Sho could hear Kanae scolding Kyoko for hugging her followed by Kyoko crying out "Moko-san!"

Sho shook his head. "I'll never understand women." He muttered. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on with Kyoko.

* * *

 **A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Let's see if Kanae can give Kyoko some good advice. And hopefully, Sho won't do anything stupid.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello again my readers! Sorry for the wait between updates. Lately I haven't had as much time to write because I just started a new job. But I'm writing every chance I get. We are nearing the end of this section of my HoMH series buy there is another one to follow.**

 **Also, for those of you who are fans of my OC'S Yukia and James, my sister is writing a lovely fanfic (oneshot) about how they met and got together. I'll be posting that on my account when it's complete.**

 **Well, here is chapter 13! Thank you for your patience and all of the reviews! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: Fighting For Friends

Kyoko and Kanae settled into a booth at a nearby café. Some people at nearby tables watched them, no doubt recognizing them as actresses. Once they had their food in front of them, Kanae spoke.

"So, what's going on?" she asked.

Kyoko feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"

Kanae rolled her eyes. "You don't send me those kind of messages if there's nothing going on."

Kyoko thought back to the messages she had sent Kanae. They had been filled with weird emojis that Kanae was fairly certain Kyoko didn't understand. Finally, Kyoko sighed.

"Well, I guess there is one thing." The younger actress finally admitted.

Kanae nodded and took a bite of her meal. "Are you having trouble with your role on the drama?" she asked.

"Um, not exactly." Kyoko muttered. She stirred her soup distractedly. "It's a problem with my co-star."

"With Tsuruga-san?"

"No, my other co-star." She explained carefully.

Kanae swallowed and looked up at Kyoko. "The one playing your brother?"

Kyoko nodded, not meeting Kanae-san eyes.

"What is it, Kyoko?" Kanae could feel panic rising within her. _What could possibly be happening that can't be solved by Tsuruga-san?_ She wondered.

"He's been harassing me. And it's only gotten worse each day." Kyoko was fighting to keep her voice even. The last thing she wanted was to get emotional in front of her best friend.

Kanae's eyes widened. "If someone's bullying you, you can go to the director. I'm surprised someone would bully you though, given that your engaged to Tsuruga Ren."

Kyoko shook her head. "He isn't bullying me." She whispered. "He keeps hitting on me and yesterday he used a scene to get away with holding me and…"

"Kyoko."

The younger girl looked up, and as tears fell from her eyes she realized that she had started to cry. Kanae handed her a napkin and she wiped her eyes. "Sorry." Kyoko muttered.

Kanae shook her head. "So I take it this is a situation Tsuruga-san can't fix. And apparently, the guy has no issue with angering him."

Kyoko nodded. "I don't know if he's really serious or just messing with me to get attention." She paused. "Moko-san, what did you do when that guy was bothering you when you were filming with Hiou-kun?"

"Well, I mostly just tried to ignore him. But it did help that I could just hang out with Hiou and he would leave me alone." Kanae looked thoughtful for a moment. "You could try ignoring him. If he just wants your attention, he'll eventually give up and leave you alone. But if he won't leave you alone still, then I think you'll have to talk to the director."

Kyoko looked uncertain.

"I know you don't want to cause any issues with filming, but there's only so much that you can be expected to deal with." Kanae reached across the table and touched her friend's hand. "Promise me, you will say something if it gets to be too much to handle."

The younger girl nodded, "I promise. But I don't think you have to worry. I think he will give up if I ignore him." She forced a smile that Kanae knew was fake but there was nothing more that the dark haired actress could say.

* * *

Sho had just finished his afternoon meeting with the head of the music section. He had accepted the drama offer and felt a little excited about it. The only thing preventing him from being completely happy, was the memory of Kyoko's words from earlier that day.

" _Never be the kind of actor who uses his position to harass a girl who has made it perfectly clear that she has no interest in you. Just leave her alone and focus on your work."_

 _What the hell was she talking about? It didn't sound like the normal type of thing she'd say to me. At least not anymore._ He pressed the button to call the elevator and waited impatiently as it came down from a higher floor.

Finally the doors opened, but he was surprised to see that not only was the elevator not empty, but it held one of his least favorite people.

"Tsuruga." Sho muttered under his breath.

Ren looked surprised to see the young musician, but upon seeing that Sho was alone he quickly pushed the button to close the doors.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Sho cried, jumping inside the elevator.

"Dammit," Ren sighed. The last person he wanted to see right now was Sho Fuwa. _As if I don't have enough to deal with with one annoyance._

A part of Sho had been going to let the elevator close but he had realized this was his chance to find out what was up with Kyoko. After all, if anyone had to know, it would be her fiancé.

"Hey, Tsuruga. What's going on with Kyoko?" he asked.

Ren stiffened. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

Sho rolled his eyes. "I ran into her earlier and she told me some weird crap about actors not using their roles to harass a girl. Now, I know Kyoko can be pretty weird but their seems to be something more to that."

"I don't see how it's any of your business." Ren answered, stepping out of the elevator on his floor and walking down the hall. Unfortunately for him, Sho followed.

"Hold up! It is my business. She's the one who brought it up. And besides, I care about her too."

Ren paused and turned around. He could feel a vein in his forehead throbbing and just wanted to be rid of Sho. "Fine, if you want to know so bad I'll tell you."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Kyoko is being harassed by our co-star. He keeps making advances towards her and she can't get him to stop."

Sho could feel anger rising within him. Why did Kyoko always attract these creeps? First that Reino from Vie Ghoul and now some pervy actor.

"Now, are you satisfied?" Ren turned to start walking again but Sho wasn't done.

"How can he be harassing her to that extent, if you're there? Shouldn't you be protecting her?" Sho was angry and he could feel his control slipping. "How can you say you'll marry her if you can't even take care of one creep?" he took a step closer to the tall actor. "You're being useless again. Just like that time I had to save her in Karuizawa, while you were off doing nothing."

Sho realized he had gone too far when he saw the look in Ren's eyes. The actor swung around, landing a fist directly above Sho's head, leaving a crack in the wall.

"Don't assume that I am not doing everything I can to protect her. I can't just go in there and start a fight with him because that could be damaging to Kyoko's career. Don't say reckless things about situations you don't understand." Ren spoke the words in a deadly whisper that sent a chill through Sho.

Before either one of them could speak again, they both heard the sound of footsteps running.

"Ren!" Yashiro called out when he rounded a corner and saw his charge.

Ren turned away from Sho. He tried to look calm but a part of him knew it was pointless to pretend with Yashiro. "Sorry. I got distracted. Am I late?" he asked.

Yashiro couldn't help but glance back at Sho who was leaning against the wall. He looked back at Ren. "Um, no. You aren't late yet. That's why I came to find you."

"Then let's go." Ren replied as he began to walk down the hall.

When they turned a corner, Yashiro glanced at Ren out of the corner of his eye. "You didn't actually hit him,right?" he asked nervously.

Ren gave an empty laugh. "No, but I wanted to."

They reached the door to the office for Ren's meeting and Ren stepped inside. He forced a smile as he sat down and greeted the producer and director. They were offering him a role in a movie, but he found himself unable to focus and was grateful that Yashiro was sitting next to him taking notes.

 _Where does that guy get off lecturing me about taking care of Kyoko?_ He thought angrily. _I do everything I can to protect her, which is a lot more than he's ever done._ And yet even while trying to convince himself not to feel guilty he could feel a knot growing in his stomach.

By the time his meeting had finished, Ren was sure he hadn't heard anything important. But right now, that didn't matter. At the moment, the only thing on his mind was how to protect Kyoko during the rest of filming.

* * *

That evening, after dinner, Kyoko watched as Ren washed the dishes while she dried. She could see that he was distracted by the way he continued to wash the same plate for several minutes.

She let out a small laugh. "Ren, you've been washing that plate for nearly ten minutes. I think it's clean by now."

Ren glanced down at his hands. "Oh," he muttered before rinsing it and handing it to her.

"Is everything okay?" Kyoko asked as she stood on tiptoes to put the plate away in the cabinet. Just as she set the plate down, she felt strong arms encircle her waist, pulling her close. Ren leaned his head against her shoulder.

Kyoko reached back and touched his hair, running her fingers through it gently. "What's wrong? You seem weird tonight."

He hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry." He whispered, his face pressed against her neck. "I'm sorry for not being able to keep you safe from Suoh."

Kyoko pulled away and turned to look at her fiancé. She took his face in her hands, pulling him down to look into her eyes. "Kuon, listen to me. I don't blame you for what happened. I understand how difficult this situation is for both of us. So please don't beat yourself up about it." She pressed a kiss to his nose and smiled when he crinkled it involuntarily. "Besides, I talked to Moko-san about it today."

Ren smiled at Kyoko's sweet treatment of him. "What did she say about it? Did she have any advice for you?"

Kyoko nodded. "She told me I should try just ignoring him. I don't think he's really seriously interested, just messing around. So, if I ignore him, he'll probably get bored." She smiled at Ren. "So, see? You don't have to worry."

Ren held her hand tightly in his own and brought it to his lips. "I will always worry about you, Kyoko." He said in a princely voice.

Kyoko blushed and pulled her hand away. "C'mon, go take a bath and I'll finish the dishes." She pushed him towards the living room, but Ren protested.

"But I thought I was helping you." He teased.

"Just go. I can finish it. Besides," she paused and gave him a devilish grin. "I bought more bubble bath."

A light pink blush colored Ren's cheeks as he tried to keep a straight face. "I don't know what you're talking about. But fine, I'll go."

Kyoko laughed as she watched him head toward the bathroom. Then she turned back to the few dishes remaining in the sink. "I just hope Moko-san's advice works. If it doesn't, I might have to ask Ren to step in."

* * *

The following day, after spending the morning at school, Kyoko headed to the studio for the drama filming. As much as she tried to drag her feet, she still arrived several minutes early. When she entered the main studio her eyes searched for Ren or Yashiro.

 _He must not be here yet._ She thought as she looked around. Despite, Ren's absence she quickly spotted Suoh. He was standing near the break table chatting flirtatiously with a few female crew members.

As if he could sense her presence, Suoh looked up, meeting Kyoko's eyes. He gave her a suggestive wink before turning back to the girls he had been talking to. Kyoko looked away, praying he wouldn't approach her. _I'm not ready yet. I thought Ren would be here before I had to face Suoh-kun._

She tugged on the edge of her shirt nervously. _Please don't come over here. Please don't-_

"Kyoko-chan!"

She cringed as she heard him call her name. _What was I supposed to do again? What was the plan? Why can't I remember?_ Immediately, she felt herself going into her default defense: acting.

She spun around forcing a smile. "Onii-chan! Good afternoon!" she greeted him with a cute half bow.

For a moment, he looked confused, then he smiled. "Oh, you're in character already." He observed then reached out and patted her head. "Good afternoon, Hana-chan," he said with a smile.

Just then Hina, Kyoko's make up girl, approached the pair. "Kyoko-san, it's time for you to get ready." She told her, watching Suoh warily.

Kyoko turned to her and nodded before waving to Suoh. "Goodbye, Onii-chan! See you later." She called before hurrying to follow Hina back to the dressing room.

When they reached the dressing room, Kyoko climbed into her chair and sighed.

"Are you okay, Kyoko-san?" Hina asked as she stepped up next to Kyoko, meeting her eyes in her reflection.

Kyoko nodded, "Yes. Everything is fine." She lied.

"If Yamato-san is bothering you, let me know if there's anything I can do to help you. Okay, Kyoko-san?" Hina asked. Her voice was sincere and Kyoko felt a warmth in her chest at the news that someone else was on her side.

"Thank you, but really everything is fine."

Hina only nodded in response as she began to get Kyoko ready to be transformed into Hana.

After getting ready, Kyoko headed out to the set and found that Ren had arrived. She immediately went to him. "Good afternoon!" she greeted cheerfully.

Ren gave her a smile. "How are you? Any problems?" he asked, not allowing the worry to show on his face.

"It's fine so far. When he tried to talk to me earlier, I went into character so Hana-chan took over." She admitted.

Ren nodded, "All right. Well, I'm here now so I'll try not to leave you alone any more than necessary." He glanced towards his dressing room.

"If you need to go get ready I'll be fine." Kyoko told him.

He sighed but nodded. "Yashiro should be right back. He just had to take a phone call. If there's any issues just come to my dressing room." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading towards his dressing room.

As soon as Ren disappeared from her sight, Kyoko could feel her anxiety rising. "It's okay. Yashiro-san will be right back."

"Well, I can keep you company for now if you're lonely." Came a low voice near her ear.

Kyoko jumped away, letting out a small cry of surprise. When she looked, she saw Suoh standing near her laughing. "You're so cute when you get surprised." He teased. He reached out a hand and tried to touch her face.

Kyoko took a step back, dodging his hand. "If you'll excuse me, I just remembered something I needed to do." She turned and quickly walked away from Suoh. By the time that she was out of his sight, she realized she had walked down a hall that was on the opposite side of the studio from Ren's dressing room.

She began to pace nervously while biting her lip. _What do I do if he follows me?_ She wondered, feeling herself panic more.

Just then, she heard footsteps nearby. She froze in place, unsure what to do if Suoh were the one to walk around the corner. Instead, she received a relieving surprise when Ren's manager appeared before her.

She let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Yashiro-san, thank goodness it's you."

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you okay, Kyoko-chan?" he asked her. "I came back and was looking for you and someone said they saw you head down here. I thought it was strange since Ren's dressing room is the other way. Did something happen?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Nothing really happened. I think I just panicked when Suoh-kun tried to talk to me and before I knew it I was over here." She laughed, trying to hide her nervousness.

 _Kyoko-chan is hiding something from me. But I'm glad it was me that found her and not that guy._ Yashiro found himself thinking as he walked with Kyoko back to the set.

By the time they had reached the set, Ren was exiting his dressing room. Yashiro watched as Kyoko hurried over to his side. _Kyoko-chan, I really hope you'll trust me to help if you need me._ He thought to himself. He glanced around he studio and spotted an irritated looking Suoh switching the couple from afar. _I swear, if you do anything more to hurt Ren or Kyoko-chan, you'll have to deal with me._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Attack

As the next few days passed, Kyoko put her plan into action as best she could. Any time she had to be around Suoh she tried to be in character or just avoided talking to him altogether. From what she could tell, he seemed to have taken the hint and wasn't spending as much time pursuing her.

Overall, she felt like most of the stress concerning him, had dissipated. That was until Ren mentioned the one thing she had forgotten.

"Don't forget, tomorrow I won't be on set." He told her as they climbed into bed.

Kyoko's eyes widened.

"You forgot?" Ren asked.

She nodded and began to pout. "I still don't understand how there can be enough scenes for us to even film without you." Kyoko muttered.

Ren pulled her over to him, holding her tightly against him. "I told you, it was a scheduling conflict. I've had this shoot booked for months and I can't move it. Trust me, I don't like not being with you any more than you do." He placed a kiss on her lips before pulling away.

Kyoko kept her eyes closed, not wanting him to see how unsure she was about the next day's filming. "Well, he seems to have given up some at least. And it is only a few hours tomorrow."

Ren ran his fingers through her hair. "I did set up for Yashiro to be with you. So you won't be completely alone. I'm not just abandoning you." He told her softly.

Kyoko's eyes fluttered open. "I know you wouldn't abandon me. And I know that if you could be there, you would. I'm sure it'll be fine." She forced a smile for Ren's benefit before cuddling closer into his arms.

"I love you, Ren."

He kissed her head as his arms wrapped around her petite body. "I love you too. There's only a few more weeks of filming and then we'll be finished with this."

She nodded with her head buried against his chest. "We can do it."

The following morning, Ren woke Kyoko only long enough to kiss her good bye before heading out for the long drive to his photo shoot. An hour after he had left, Kyoko got up and showered. She dressed in a sundress and then headed to the kitchen.

"I should probably make something for Yashiro-san to eat as well." She told herself. She moved about the kitchen while her phone played music from a radio app Ren had helped her download. It was a good distraction from the inevitable day ahead of her.

Half an hour later, after Kyoko had wrapped up the breakfast sandwiches she had prepared, her phone rang. She quickly answered it.

"Good morning!" she answered cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kyoko-chan. This is Yashiro. I'm downstairs with a cab, ready whenever you are." The manager's voice sounded slightly tense and Kyoko could only imagine the type of warnings Ren had given him about protecting her.

"Of course, Yashiro-san. I'll be right down." She hung up the phone and grabbed her purse before heading out the door.

Outside of the apartment building she spotted Yashiro fiddling with his phone while standing next to a taxi. He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and smiled at Kyoko. "Good morning, Kyoko-chan." He greeted her, placing his phone back in his pocket and removing the gloves from his hands.

"Good morning. I made you breakfast." She told him, offering one of the wrapped sandwiches she had prepared.

He seemed to relax a bit at this and accepted the food. "Thank you very much, Kyoko-chan. Ren really is very lucky to have you."

Kyoko blushed as she climbed into the car, giving an embarrassed laugh. "You shouldn't tease me, Yashiro-san."

"I would never." He answered with a warm smile.

The cab ride to the studio went faster than either of them had wanted and they soon found themselves on the set of the drama. Kyoko looked up at Yashiro. "I have to go get ready. I'll be fine on my own. I'll have Hina-chan with me."

Yashiro glanced around nervously. "I think I should still wait outside of your dressing room. That way I can escort you when you're done."

Kyoko nodded, "If you think that's best."

Yashiro was thankful she wasn't resisting. _As sweet as Kyoko-chan can be, she can also be downright stubborn when it comes to her own well-being._

He waited patiently while Kyoko got into wardrobe and had her hair and make up done. Truthfully, he knew this would be the easiest part of the day. After all, so far they hadn't had to deal with Suoh.

His relaxing ended however, once Kyoko was in costume and filming was about to start. They had returned to the set and the trouble began as soon as Suoh laid eyes on her. He quickly approached Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan, how good to see you again today." He said in a charming voice. He reached out and attempted to brush his fingertips against the actress's face.

Kyoko turned her face just enough for him to miss. "Good day to you as well, Onii-chan." She greeted him with an innocent smile.

He smirked, _Fine, if you wanna be my little sister that works for me._ He reached out and patted her head. "Are you looking forward to our date today, Hana?"

Kyoko inwardly cringed at the thought of going on a date with him. But she knew he was only referring to the scenes they were filming today- a brother/sister date between Hana and Keiji. Hana would be excited, but Kyoko was far less than thrilled.

"Of course, Onii-chan!" she exclaimed. "Let's go tell the director we are ready." _The sooner it's over with, the better._

* * *

Action!

Hana paced back and forth outside of Keiji's room. She sighed loudly. "Are you almost ready, Keiji-nii?" I swear, you take longer to get ready than most girls."

"Fine, you can come in already." Came a voice from behind the door.

Hana didn't hesitate before bursting in through the unlocked door. The first sight she took in were the bunk beds. Both of which were neatly made and unoccupied. She looked around for her brother. "Where's Yusei-kun?" she asked. She turned and her eyes landed on her brother who was standing in the tiny kitchen of the room, with no shirt on.

"Oh, he went out early to finish some homework in the library." He answered calmly as he turned around drinking a cup of coffee.

Kyoko's head was spinning, she was fairly certain Suoh had had a shirt on before the filming began. _So why did he take it off?_ She thought irritably. She forced herself not to blush or look away. _Hana wouldn't do either of those things._ She stepped forward following the script.

"Well, I think you've kept me waiting long enough. Can we go on our date now?" she pleaded sweetly. It was a tone Hana knew her brother couldn't resist.

Keiji smiled at her. "Anything for my adorable little sister." He murmured before stepping over to the chair he had his shirt draped over. He pulled it over his head while Hana looked around the room. She let her eyes linger for a moment on Yusei's bed, before making her way out the door with her brother.

* * *

Once the scene was over Kyoko took a long drink of the water bottle Yashiro had brought her. He watched her anxiously. He knew how innocent Kyoko was. And he knew she was probably struggling with the fact that she had just seen Suoh half-naked.

"Are you okay, Kyoko-chan?" he asked.

Kyoko jumped, and looked at him as if she had forgotten he was there. Her mind processed his question and she forced a calm smile. With a nod, she spoke. "Yes. Just a little distracted. Thank you for the water. I think I'm going to go ask the director if we are ready for the next scene." She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked away before Yashiro could say anything else.

As she walked away, Kyoko tried to force the image of Suoh's bare chest out of her mind. _As a pure maiden that was the last thing I wanted to see. And why would Keiji let his younger sister see him like that? It's just indecent behavior._ As she ranted to herself, she forgot to pay attention to her surroundings and tripped over a cable from one of the lights.

An arm wrapped around her waist, preventing her from smacking into the ground. She straightened herself. "Thank yo- Suoh-kun!" she exclaimed. She jumped out of his grasp and tried to calm herself.

He chuckled. "You should be more careful, Kyoko-chan. I know you're probably still thinking about seeing me half-naked, but really." He winked at her then stepped away.

Kyoko felt indignant. A fire was burning inside of her, but it wasn't due to being embarrassed. This fire was full of anger at this man who kept toying with her for his own amusement. And as sad as it was to admit, she really couldn't wait for the drama to be over.

After a few more scenes, Kyoko was happy to finally have a scene to film without Suoh. It was one from a different episode where she was seen talking to her friends from school. But while she was talking happily with her friends, another, very different conversation was happening with Yashiro.

Yashiro felt himself tense the moment Suoh approached him. He really would rather that this guy just stayed far away from Kyoko and Ren.

"Yashiro-san, was it?" Suoh asked uncertainly.

The manager gave him a sideways glance followed by a brief nod.

Suoh let out a quiet laugh. "So, I see Ren-kun doesn't let Kyoko-chan out without an escort." He shook his head in a disapproving manner. "He really should be able to trust his future wife."

Yashiro clenched his teeth. "Actually, Yamato-san, I'm here to keep undesirables from giving her unwanted attention." He glared pointedly at the other man and Suoh let out another laugh.

"Yes," he replied, "but you see, that theory only works if she thinks I'm undesirable." He whispered before giving a suggestive wink.

Yashiro felt a thousand angry words on the tip of his tongue that he wished he could spit out at this man before him, but he knew his orders and also knew that harassing one of the stars could be grounds to have him removed from the set. _Then I'd be completely helpless._ He thought irritably. He counted to ten as he breathed slowly. _Calm yourself, Yukihito._

Kyoko was back, once again, to film another scene with Suoh. This time it involved them walking together and talking while cameras filmed the adorable "sibling" scenes. There was no actual script for this part, so they were told to just discuss anything they wanted but to make sure to keep smiling and laughing occassionally.

As they walked Kyoko was fully in character and she thought, since they were acting, Suoh would follow suit. So it startled her when he spoke. "I got to talking with your guard dog over there." He said with a smile.

Hana was gone after a moments confusion but Kyoko forced her face to stay in character. "Actually, he's a manager." She replied.

"It's the same thing either way. Your fiance doesn't trust you enough to be alone with me." He smirked at her, "Kind of makes me think that maybe you've been thinking about me too."

Kyoko suppressed a surprised look. Instead she forced out a laugh. "Keiji-nii, you are so funny." She told him through her giggles.

He laughed with her but then in a low whisper said, "Don't worry. We can discuss this later, without everybody else." He took her hand in his own as they walked and it took every bit of her actress spirit to stop her from ripping her hand out of his grasp.

After filming was finished for the day, Kyoko felt relieved. It finally felt like she could relax. She let Yashiro know she would be getting changed in her dressing room and then they could go. He nodded and started to follow her.

"Yashiro-san! Could I speak to you for a minute about Tsuruga-san's schedule for the rest of filming?" the director asked suddenly.

Yashiro glanced at Kyoko, but she nodded and gave him a quick thumbs up. He still looked worried but knew there was nothing more he could do.

Kyoko entered her dressing room and closed the door behind her. She removed her wig and began to remove the make up that she had on. When that was finished she let her hair down from the bun it was in. She fixed it in the mirror, but then froze. She spun around and saw Suoh standing just inside her room, the door closed behind him.

"Wh- what are you doing in here?" she squeaked out. She had meant to sound accusing, but her fear had stolen that from her.

He took a step closer, "I told you we'd talk alone, didn't I?"

Kyoko shook her head. "You shouldn't be in here. Yashiro-san will be right-"

Suoh laughed and the sound made Kyoko feel sick. "Your guard dog is caught up chatting away with the director." He told her. He took a step closer and grabbed Kyoko's hand pulling her close to him. "You know, you really are wasted on someone like Ren. I'm sure I could satisfy you much better."

Kyoko struggled, trying to push away from him but he was strong. "Let me go! I don't want anything to do with scum like you!" she cried out.

"Now, Kyoko." He said, dropping his honorifics. "How do you know that if you don't even give me a chance?" and with those words he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pressing her body to his and used his other hand to position her head as he leaned in and forced his lips against her own.

Kyoko's head was spinning. For a moment she couldn't believe what was happening. That is, until she felt Suoh's tongue forcibly enter her mouth. Instinct kicked in and she bit him.

He pulled back from the kiss but didn't release his grip on her. "You brat!" he exclaimed.

Kyoko quickly aimed a kick at his shin and she was freed as he instinctively grabbed for his injured leg.

He straightened, glaring down at a frozen Kyoko. "You'll regret that," he threatened. He pulled his hand towards himself like he was preparing to hit her and Kyoko closed her eyes, arms flinching upwards to protect herself.

She heard the smack sound fill the room but she felt no pain. Her eyes opened and the first thing she saw were a pair of broken glasses lying on the floor. Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw what had shielded her.

Or rather, who…

"Yashiro-san!" she cried out.

Suoh stared down at the manager in shock. "Wh- I didn't… where did you-?" the words came out jumbled and it was obvious he was panicking.

Kyoko moved in front of Yashiro. She was no longer scared, now she was angry.

"How dare you injure him!" she yelled, "You are the worst kind of person. First, you force a kiss on a young woman, then you strike her friend. You don't deserve to be called an actor."

Suoh cursed under his breath before turning and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

Kyoko turned back to Yashiro and examined the red mark on his cheek that had already started to bruise. She reached up and touched the mark gently.

"I'm sorry, Yashiro-san. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." She looked around and picked up his glasses from the ground. "And now your glasses are broken as well." She looked up at him, waiting for him to respond.

The manager just stared at Kyoko. The pain he felt was a mere buzzing in the background of his mind. Here she was panicking, but not because of what had nearly happened to her, but simply because he had gotten hurt doing exactly what he had promised Ren. Trying to protect her.

His eyes widened suddenly. "Kyoko-chan, did you say he kissed you?"

Kyoko blushed then looked down feeling ashamed. "Yes, he did. But it's okay. Besides, it was my fault for not being more on guard."

As she finished her statement, Yashiro pulled her into a tight gentle hug. It was the first time that she could remember being hugged by him.

Yashiro felt his eyes sting, not from pain, but from the tears that were starting to form.

"I am so sorry, Kyoko-chan. I failed at the one thing I promised Ren I would do. Protecting you."

* * *

 **A/N: First, I'm sorry it's been a while but I hope this chapter was exciting and helped make up for the time away. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because it flowed easily. We are near the end and now all that's left is for them to teach Suoh a lesson.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A Thrilling Plan

Yukihito Yashiro sat anxiously on the couch of his best friend. Kyoko had stepped into the kitchen to make them tea while they waited for Ren to arrive. While all the details had yet to be revealed to Ren, he knew that something bad had happened with Suoh. And that that something had led to a kind of altercation between the three of them.

He had hung up the phone quickly, telling them that he'd be at the apartment as quickly as he could, and to wait for him there.

 _He's probably going to kill me for not protecting Kyoko-chan._ Yashiro thought to himself. He closed his eyes and sighed, covering his face with his hands. "I am a horrible manager." He muttered to himself.

He heard Kyoko's footsteps and the clinking of dishes a moment later, and looked up to see her carrying a tea tray into the living room.

"You should drink something, Yashiro-san." Kyoko said gently, fixing him a cup of hot tea. She handed him the cup and he took a small sip before setting it on the table.

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan." He replied, forcing a small smile.

Just then, the door to the room flew open and Ren burst in. He was breathing hard, and he had neglected to remove his shoes before dashing into the apartment.

"Are… you… both… okay?" he gasped out the words as he struggled to breathe normally. After a moment's rest, he moved towards Kyoko and pulled her tightly into his arms.

She tried to awkwardly pat his back as he held her. "I'm fine, Ren. Really. Yashiro-san kept me safe."

Ren looked at his manager over the top of Kyoko's head. "Thank you." He said, his voice full of emotion.

Yashiro struggled for words. Why was Ren thanking him? Didn't he know that he didn't deserve it? He watched as Ren kissed Kyoko's hair repeatedly.

Finally, after several moments of holding her, he released her, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Now, how about you two tell me what happened?"

Kyoko nodded and led Ren over to sit on the couch. She then handed him a cup of tea. "Drink this first."

He reluctantly drank the tea, then placed the empty cup back on the table. "Now then?"

Kyoko swallowed hard and glanced towards Yashiro before beginning. "Suoh followed me into my dressing room when I went to change after filming was over. Up till then, nothing had really happened. But he waited until Yashiro-san was busy with the director. I- I thought I'd be fine going by myself but then he came in." She stared down at her hands that were tightly gripping the tea cup in her lap.

"He said that you didn't deserve me. And he told me I should give him a chance, then he-" her voice cracked as she remembered what had happened. "He grabbed me, and he ki-" Kyoko closed her eyes. "He kissed me."

A low growl came from Ren's throat, involuntarily, causing both his manager and fiancée to look at him. Ren clenched his fists, fighting the urge to punch something. Namely, Suoh.

He gestured for Kyoko to continue.

"I bit him and he stopped, but then I had to kick him so he'd let go of me. After I did that he yelled at me and he was going to hit me but-" she swallowed, as a few tears fell from her eyes.

She looked up again, meeting Ren's eyes. "When I opened my eyes, Yashiro-san was standing in front of me. He got hit instead, and Suoh panicked and ran away."

Ren's face grew dark and Yashiro could sense an angry aura coming off of him. He knew it was time now for him to apologize. And possibly, beg for forgiveness.

"Ren, I'm sorry-" he had begun speaking, but Ren held up a hand.

"Thank you. I don't think any of us expected that that bastard would actually try to attack Kyoko. Thank you for doing your best to protect her." Ren's words were sincere and Yashiro felt some of the worry that had been numbing him, fade away. It was quickly replaced with the stinging pain from his right cheek which was beginning to bruise.

Suddenly, Ren stood and began to pace.

"Ren, what are you going to do?" Kyoko asked nervously. She could tell from his behavior that he was struggling to stay in control. Fighting to keep control against the dark Kuon that existed within him.

Finally, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Ren-san, is everything okay?" James asked anxiously.

"You told me to call if I ever felt like doing something reckless." He replied with an empty laugh. "Well, I am doing everything I can to stop myself from finding Suoh and killing him right now."

Kyoko covered her mouth with her hand. She knew enough about Ren, to know that he was serious. There was no exaggeration in his words. He could kill Suoh if he lost control.

"Do you need us to come over?" James asked.

Ren ran a hand through his hair. "No, I doubt Kyoko or Yashiro would let me leave right now anyway. But we need to figure out something, otherwise I may really kill him next time I see him."

He listened as he heard hushed talking on the other end of the phone. No doubt, James was relating this information to Yukia. "Can you tell me what happened?" James asked finally. "Or have Kyoko-chan tell me if you can't."

Ren was silent as he handed the phone to Kyoko. He couldn't bring himself to talk in detail about what had happened, it would anger him too much. As Kyoko filled in James on the day's events, Ren leaned against the arm of the couch. He could feel Yashiro's eyes on him.

As much as he wanted to blame his manager or to say that if he had been there it wouldn't have happened. He couldn't. Because the simple fact was, Ren hadn't been there. _He did more than I could have expected of him. He protected her by being a shield. But now Suoh needs to pay for his actions against both of them._

Kyoko finished retelling her story to James and waited silently while he explained it to Yukia. She could hear them talking in hushed tones, but couldn't make out what was being said. After several moments, Yukia came on the phone.

"Kyoko-chan, I think I have a plan that may work to get Suoh to leave you all alone." He told her. "Can we meet to discuss it?"

"Just a second." Kyoko answered. She pulled the phone away from her mouth and turned to the two serious-faced men. "Yukia-kun has a plan to help us deal with Suoh. He wants to meet so we can talk about it."

Ren glanced at his manager who was already looking through the next day's schedule. "We could meet in the morning, at the LoveMe section around eight." Yashiro suggested.

Kyoko nodded and spoke into the phone again. "How does eight tomorrow morning sound? We can meet in the LoveMe section."

* * *

The next morning, Kyoko, Ren, and Yashiro all headed to the LoveMe section to meet James and Yukia. Kyoko was grateful that they weren't scheduled to do any filming on the drama that day. She wasn't sure if she could handle seeing Suoh again so soon.

When they entered the room, Kyoko was relieved to see that Yukia and James had already arrived. They were both seated at the small conference table, talking quietly. At the sound of the door, Yukia looked up.

"Kyoko-chan, " he exclaimed. Yukia jumped up and hurried to give her a hug. "Don't worry. We'll help you get this whole thing taken care of." He told her before leading her to sit down near him.

Yashiro also took a seat, in a chair near James, leaving the seat next to Kyoko available for Ren. Ren, however, chose to lean against the wall moodily.

They all noticed, but pretended not to. After a moment, Ren spoke. "So, what is the plan?" he asked.

Yukia glanced at James who nodded in approval. A light pink color tinged Yukia's cheeks as he began to speak. "Well, you see," he swallowed nervously. "I'm guest starring on a drama and last week they did something that I was thinking could work." He paused, continuing only once Kyoko had given him a questioning look.

"The main characters dressed up like yakuza and scared away the antagonist by threatening him. I think this kind of tactic may work with Suoh." He struggled to not let his uncertainty show. The night before he had felt so sure, but now that they were there and he was hearing it, he worried it might be stupid.

Ren was thoughtful. He moved to the table and sat down. "How exactly would we do this?" he asked seriously.

"Oh!" Yukia exclaimed in surprise. "Well, I guess we'd need a few guys to dress up for the part, they should be people Suoh doesn't know, and then they have to corner him and give him a good talking to."

Ren sighed, "Which means I couldn't do it."

Yukia shook his head. "But I was thinking maybe James could."

Ren glanced at James who nodded. "I am ready to help however I can."

"But we'd still need at least two more people for it to scare him." Yashiro commented. "And I'm also unable to since he knows who I am."

Yukia sighed, "And I can't do it because no one would believe I'm a yakuza."

Kyoko smiled at her friend. It was true. Nobody would ever think the friendly and cute boy was a gang member. Then an idea struck her. "Ren, what about the President's assistant? He seems like the type who could be scary."

Ren nodded. "I'm sure the president would let us borrow him for a little while. But we are still short one person."

They all sat silently, trying to think of someone else who could play a yakuza. Right as Kyoko had given up, and was going to say it wouldn't work, the door to the LoveMe section opened.

Sho took two steps into the room before freezing in place. He took in the crowd before him then his eyes stopped on Kyoko. "What the hell are all of you doing in here?" he complained.

"He could do it!"

The exclamation had come from Yukia whose eyes had lit up when he saw Sho. "Fuwa-San would be perfect."

Immediately, Sho got defensive. "Nuh uh. I am not getting involved in anything that he's a part of." He muttered, giving a nod towards Ren.

Kyoko ignored Sho's protests. She turned to Yukia instead. "You're right. He's got just the right attitude. And he can be scary when he tries."

"Hey!" Sho yelled. "Don't start talking like I'm not here!" he gave a sigh full of annoyance. "What the hell is it you want me to do anyways?"

Now the last person Ren wanted to be indebted to was Sho Fuwa, but he was thinking clearly enough to realize he was probably their best option.

"We have a plan to get Suoh to stop harassing Kyoko." Ren explained suddenly.

Sho's eyes darted to him. "So what? You need my help to protect her?" his voice was taunting but there was something else buried beneath it.

Ren ignored the comment. "The bastard attacked Kyoko yesterday and assaulted my manager who was trying to protect her. He needs to be taught a lesson and we have a plan. But we need one more person who Suoh hasn't met."

Sho smirked, he always liked the idea of harassing someone else. Especially, if it was to protect something he cared about. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

That afternoon found Kyoko waiting in the president's office with James and Sho. Yukia and Ren had both had to head to their respective jobs, leaving the other three to set their plan in action.

The President sat at his desk humming amusedly as he made notes on some papers. As always, he had been quite excited to be included in a secret plan. Especially one that included dressing up.

A few moments later, Sebastian entered the room followed by a girl with purple hair who was gazing around the office in amazement. Kyoko jumped up from her seat and ran over to her.

"Hina-chan! Thank you so much for agreeing to help us." Kyoko greeted her with a bow.

"Really, Kyoko-san. I told you I'd be more than happy to help you deal with someone like that guy. But you'll have to explain to me again what it is I'm doing." Hina said.

Kyoko nodded, "I need you to make those three," she gestured to the three men in question, "Look like yakuza."

The president let out a muffled laugh at his desk. When they looked at him he waved a hand and tried to keep a straight face.

 _Apparently, he finds the thought rather amusing._ Kyoko thought to herself. She quickly showed Hina to a make shift dressing room that had been set up with three chairs as well as a clothing rack that already had three suit bags hanging from it.

"Just let me set up my stuff and then you can send them in." Hina told her.

Kyoko nodded and stepped back out of the room. _I hope this works._ She thought. _Because if it doesn't, I don't know what else we can do._

Two hours later, Kyoko and the President were waiting on the couch in his office. Hina stepped out of the dressing room looking excited. "Now presenting, what I think, are three very convincing yakuza." She gestured towards the door to the dressing room.

All three of the men stepped out. Sebastian looked completely comfortable in his flashy suit with a gold chain hanging from his neck and a pair of sunglasses on his face. Sho followed next wearing a similar suit with wildly styled hair. The last to exit the room, was James. He looked uncomfortable with his slicked back hair and shockingly white suit.

The president clapped his hands and immediately stood to examine them closer. Kyoko approached Hina. "Thank you for your help! They look perfect!" Kyoko praised.

The make up artist blushed but gave a small smile. "Well, I've done everything I can. Now it's just up to them to act the part." She gave a quick bow. "I'll see myself out now. Good luck!"

They bid her good bye before turning back to discuss the rest of the plan. James rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The president offered a pack of cigarettes and a lighter to Sebastian who put them in his pocket.

"Now I'm assuming you all can at least act enough to pull off the plan?" the president asked.

Sho nodded, "If I'm the one who will mainly be talking, then it only matters as long as they look tough, right?"

Kyoko noticed that James seemed to be uncomfortable with more than just his outfit. She stepped near him. "Um, James-san?" she asked.

He glanced at her. "Yes, Kyoko-chan?" he replied, his voice slightly higher than usual.

"Are you going to be okay with this? You seem kind of nervous." She commented.

He gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine. Thank you, Kyoko-chan. I meant what I said earlier, I am happy to do anything I can to help you."

He patted Kyoko's head in a brotherly way before turning his attention back to the president who seemed to be giving impromptu lessons on yakuza behavior.

Kyoko laughed watching the normally goofy president try to act tough and serious. It was nice for a few moments to pretend like this was just something fun, with no possible dangerous after effects.

By the evening, Ren, Yashiro, and Yukia arrived back at the agency. Everyone was excited to see how the disguises had turned out and wish the three "yakuza" luck on their mission.

Ren looked impressed while Yashiro let out an audible "Wow." Yukia however, was silent as he took in the costumes. He approached James and helped to flatten out a few stray strands of dark hair.

"Does it look ridiculous?" James asked softly.

Yukia laughed but shook his head."No, it looks good. Just be careful."

James smiled. "Of course I will."

They exchanged a brief touch of each other's hands before turning back to where everyone else was talking. The President handed a set of keys to his assistant, then gave him a slip of paper.

"This is the location of a bar Yamato-san frequents. My sources say that he should be there tonight until around eleven. And this," he handed another paper to James. "Is his address to his apartment."

James stared down at the information that had been written in both Japanese and English. "What's this for?" he asked.

The President smiled. No doubt, this young man had never had to threaten someone before. "That is our scare tactic. At a key moment, you can feel free to mention to him that we have this information. If nothing else works up to that point, this definitely will."

James nodded in understanding. "Very well, sir."

Kyoko and the others wished the three good luck before allowing them to head outside to a nearby car. The president's assistant held open the back door for them and both Sho and James slid into the seat.

Sho leaned his head back with a smile. _Now all that's left to do is scare that guy so bad, he won't ever touch Kyoko again._

* * *

 **A/N: So what do you think of their plan? I was inspired by many mangas I've read where they have done this type of thing. Lol. Next chapter we will see if it works. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry, it has been a few weeks since I posted last. I had some trouble figuring out these chapters since I was super busy at work. But I'm proud to present the almost last chapter of this part of the story. Next week I will ppost the epilogue as well as the first chapter of the next part of the story.**

 **Also, I just posted a new oneshot that is a part of my HoMH series. It's titled "By My Side" and it is focused on my OC'S Yukia and James. I hope you'll check it out. And thanks for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 16: And…. ACTION!

Ren watched as Kyoko fidgeted in her seat next to him on the couch. He had turned on the television as a distraction and Kyoko had been busy trying to read a new script for a movie she had been offered a role in. She had been staring at the same page for several minutes while nervously chewing on her lower lip.

"Are you okay?" he asked, startling her.

Kyoko jumped, accidentally throwing her script into the air.

Ren looked at her with concern. "Didn't mean to scare you." He commented. He pulled her closer to him, until she was leaning against him. "Now what are you thinking about? You weren't even reading your script. You just looked like you were worrying."

Kyoko sighed. "I'm worried about the guys. What they're doing is dangerous. And what if Suoh recognizes Sho? I mean he is famous. I keep worrying what will happen if he figures out who they are."

Ren ruffled her hair before answering. "I really don't think we have anything to worry about. He would never have a reason to recognize the President's assistant or James-kun. And as far as recognizing Fuwa, well…" he paused, memories flooding his mind.

"Well?" Kyoko asked, glancing up at him.

"It was quite a while ago, when I first worked with him. He was already pretty famous at the time but not as big as he is now. He had complained to the director and producers about having another actor's name listed before his on the posters." Ren explained. "The only problem was, the other actor was someone much more famous than him. Even I, who had only just joined Show business in Japan, knew how famous the other actor was."

Kyoko was awestruck. For another actor to be so self-absorbed to not notice the other famous people surround him, was practically unheard of in her circles. Even Sho, who was the epitome of self-absorbtion, knew who Ren Tsuruga was. A relieved smile graced her lips. "So what you're saying is there's no need to worry because he's oblivious to people other than himself?"

"Exactly."

Kyoko cuddled up next to her fiancé, finally feeling she could relax the tiniest bit. And after so many weeks of being on edge, the relaxed state allowed her to quickly drift to sleep.

Once he realized she was sound asleep, Ren carried her to their bed. He laid her down and then climbed into bed next to her, holding her tightly. _Hopefully, after tonight, this whole nightmare will be over._

Sho Fuwa was currently standing in a bar alleyway dressed ridiculously. Next to him, leaning against the opposite wall was the tall, good looking Brit, James Howell. And he could swear it felt like James was glaring at him. He glanced up from his phone where he was monitoring the time. Sure enough, the older man was watching him, suspiciously.

Finally, Sho decided to speak. "Do you have something you wanna say to me?"

James raised his eyebrows. "I just keep wondering why you agreed so easily to help Kyoko-chan." He admitted in a soft but serious voice.

A light blush crept over Sho's face. He shot a glare at the older man. "If you think that I'm using this to get her to leave that pretty boy, or to put them in my debt, you're wrong. That may have been something I would've done before but I have changed."

James nodded, obviously unsure if he believed the singer.

"And what about you?" Sho asked suddenly. "What makes someone like you offer to help?"

James stared at Sho seriously. "Kyoko-chan is a dear friend of both me and Yukia. And I think of her as a sister. Therefore, I am always willing to help protect her."

The pair watched each other silently for a few moments.

"He seems to be getting prepared to leave."

The sudden voice startled both of them and they looked up to see the president's assistant. He had slipped inside of the bar to keep an eye on their target so that they would be prepared when he came out.

"Oi," Sho muttered. "Well, I guess it's time then."

They waited in the shadows as planned until a tipsy looking Suoh Yamato exited the bar. The man passed by the alley in a stagger as he tried to pull out his phone to dial for a cab.

It had been agreed that Sebastian would be the one to pull Suoh into the alley, in case he tried to fight. Lest Sho or James should be injured.

Sebastian grabbed hold of Suoh's jacket and yanked him into the alley. He shoved him against the wall and Suoh looked around wildly.

"Wh-what do you want? I don't have any money, I swear!" he exclaimed, his voice already filled with panic.

Sho laughed. It was a cold and cruel laugh that sent a chill down Suoh's spine. "Do I look like I need money from some lowlife like you?" Sho asked. His tone said he was insulted and Suoh wondered if they were going to kill him.

Sho took an offered cigarette from Sebastian and waited for him to light it as he spoke. "You're Suoh Yamato. That actor who is starring with Tsuruga and Kyoko." It wasn't a question. The scary looking yakuza was merely stating facts. Suoh opted to only nodded silently. Scared that saying anything would endanger him more.

Sho took hold of Suoh's shirt, forcing him to look straight at him. "You've been harassing Kyoko-sama. And we don't like that." He said in a deadly whisper. "So I suggest, that unless you want us to come pay you a little visit, you should leave Kyoko-sama alone."

A moment of idiotic bravery filled Suoh. Surely, these men were bluffing. Probably some goons Kyoko had hired to give him a hard time. "All you have are empty threats." Suoh sneered. "It's not as if you know where I live-"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, James spoke. "You live on the fifth floor of the Lennart building in Tokyo. There is a doorman but he takes frequent breaks from his post and the security cameras are fairly cheap."

The blood drained from Suoh's face. Sho smirked at him before continuing to speak. "I think you had best apologize to Kyoko-sama and then stay the hell away from her, or else maybe you should start looking for a new apartment." Sho shoved him back against the wall, as he released his grip on Suoh's shirt. "Now get lost." He said, throwing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his shoe.

Satisfaction filled Sho as he watched Suoh run down the sidewalk, struggling to keep his balance. It was only a moment before James spoke though.

"Do you think there was anything illegal about what we did?" He questioned nervously.

Sho shrugged, "Isn't it a bit late to worry about that?"

Sebastian smiled at them both. "Don't worry. Nothing illegal was done. And no threats of harm were made. You merely suggested that you might pay him a visit if he doesn't leave Kyoko-sama alone."

Sho nodded, "Exactly what he said. Now let's get back to the car. I'm ready to be out of these clothes."

As they climbed inside of the car, James pulled out his phone. It was nearly midnight. He typed out a quick message to Ren, letting him know that everything had gone as planned. Then he sent a text to Yukia, telling him he'd be home soon.

The next morning, Ren noticed Kyoko was in a good mood. He had told her when she woke up about James's message and since then she had seemed quite happy. He watched her from the doorway as she fixed her hair in the bathroom.

"Why are you watching me?" she asked, feeling self conscious of the attention.

Ren smiled at her. "No reason. It's just nice to see you happy again. It's been a while since I've seen you look so carefree."

Kyoko rolled her eyes as she set down the hairbrush. "You make it sound like I've been in a bad mood for weeks."

Ren reached out and grabbed hold of her hand using it to pull her towards him. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his forehead against hers. "You've been distracted because of Suoh and it's nice to have your attention again." He paused, giving her a seductive look. "I will have your attention, won't I?"

Kyoko flushed at his words and tried to squirm away from him. She gave in after a minute. "Yes. You will have my complete attention." She admitted, feeling her face burning at having to say such words.

He leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss. Lovingly working his lips and tongue against her own. After several minutes, they both pulled away, both of them out of breath.

He smirked down at her. "Good."

By the time they had picked up Yashiro and driven to their filming of the drama, some of Kyoko's nervousness had returned. She fidgeted with her purse strap as they waited for the elevator. Ren reached out and touched her fingers gently.

"It'll be fine." He murmured.

She glanced up at him and saw that both he and Yashiro were watching her. A smile graced her appearance at the sight of their concern.

 _I really am very lucky to have so many people who care about me so much._ She thought to herself as they boarded the elevator.

When they arrived on set, Ren and Kyoko waited while Yashiro checked about what costumes would be needed for the day's filming. He was also figuring out how many costume changes there would be in order to figure out which of them would be able to be Kyoko's guard. It turned out this precaution was not needed.

As they waited, Suoh approached them nervously. The older man bowed low in front of Kyoko.

"I would like to apologize for my behavior towards you in the last several weeks. I'm afraid that I crossed a lot of lines. I would like to also apologize for the incident that happened the other day in your dressing room." He glanced up at Ren. "And if you could please extend my apology to your manager as well." He shuffled his feet nervously.

"I don't think there's any reason to not accept your apology as long as nothing further happens." Kyoko commented.

Suoh looked at her, his face full of relief. "So then you'll call off your guard dogs?"

Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise. "Guard dogs? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

He looked uncertain if she was being truthful. "I'm referring to your yakuza friends." He muttered.

Kyoko shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not friends with any yakuza."

Her innocent tone made him give up. He only nodded. "All right then." Suoh replied unsuredly.

"Well, hopefully you won't have any more encounters with any yakuza." Ren told him politely. His tone was so polite in fact that it sent a chill down Suoh's spine.

For a brief moment, Suoh wondered if the younger actor could be the one with yakuza connections. He had just dismissed this idea, when Ren winked at him. And this action solidified that theory in his mind. He turned and began to walk away.

 _Thank God there are only two more weeks of filming._ He thought to himself before managing to trip over a cord to a nearby light.

That evening, everyone involved with their scheme (minus the president and Sebastian) met at a local restaurant and gathered in a private dining room. To be honest, Kyoko was more than a little surprised that Sho had agreed to come. She had thought that he might avoid it since it would mean being around Ren. She had tried to invite Kanae but the other actress had informed her she was heading out early for on location filming and couldn't make it.

Kyoko looked around at her group of friends. They had all acted as her protectors in their own way and defended her from an enemy. She could feel happy tears start to fill her eyes and wiped them away quickly so no one would notice.

Next to her, Ren squeezed her hand. She glanced at him and saw he was watching her with concern. _He never misses anything, does he?_ She thought with a laugh.

The laugh caused Ren to relax and he focused back on their friends. "I'd like to thank all of you for your assistance in what was a very difficult situation." He said seriously.

Yukia and James glanced at each other, while Sho stared awkwardly down into his drink. Yashiro patted Ren on the shoulder.

"Always happy to help a friend. Especially, if it involves helping Kyoko-chan." The manager teased.

The evening quickly moved along and as they ate they relaxed and enjoyed one of the few nights out they could get all together. Yukia smiled at Kyoko who he was sitting next to.

"It's nice that we have a chance to celebrate our victory." Yukia said with a grin.

Kyoko nodded. "Speaking of celebrations, isn't your birthday next month?"

Yukia blushed, "Oh yeah." He gave a small laugh. "I'd forgotten."

James ruffled Yukia's hair. "No you hadn't. You've been very excited about your eighteenth birthday."

The younger man blushed darker.

Ren looked their way having heard part of the conversation. "When is your birthday, Yukia-kun?"

"August 17th."

Kyoko gave Ren a meaningful look, implying she thought they should have a party. And Ren chuckled in response.

As they continued chatting, even Yashiro joined in. Kyoko was so involved in the conversation that she almost didn't notice when Sho sneaked out of the room. She quickly stood, "I'll be right back." She told Ren before hurrying out the door after her childhood friend. She caught him in the hall outside.

"Sho," she called to him.

He paused for a moment before deciding to turn around. "What'd you want?" he muttered.

She stepped over to him. "I just wanted to say thank you. We wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

A strange expression crossed Sho's face but a moment later it was gone. "Yeah. Whatever. I just thought it might be fun to scare the crap out of someone." He turned to walk away. "See ya. I have some songs to write and a script to memorize."

"Good luck, Sho!" Kyoko called out.

Sho glanced back once to see Kyoko waving to him, her face smiling. And he was shocked as the realization hit him that they had nearly come full circle. Here she was after everything he had put her through, smiling at him and wishing him good luck in his career again. He allowed a smile to play across his lips as he called back, "You too, Kyoko."


	17. Epilogue

Epilogue: That's a Wrap!

Kyoko stared in awe as she entered the fantastically decorated hall where the wrap party was taking place for their drama. It had been airing for the last three weeks and had been receiving good ratings that had inspired the producers to host an extravagant party.

She was happy to have the filming finished, but even happier to be entering the party on Ren's arm. Even though the contact in public made her blush a little.

"Shall we go find the director?" Ren asked, looking down at her.

Kyoko nodded. "Oh, yes." She glanced around searching for him.

Yashiro stepped next to them. "I believe he's there. Next to the stage." He nodded towards the direction he had indicated.

Ren nodded, "All right then." He lead Kyoko over beside the stage where they found the director standing with a lovely young woman with dark hair pinned up and wearing a dark red evening dress.

"Director-san," Ren spoke when they had reached his side. "This is a lovely party."

The director smiled and quickly shook Ren's hand. "Tsuruga-san, Kyoko-san, glad to see you again. Kyoko-san you look beautiful."

Kyoko smiled and greeted the director with a small bow. "Thank you, director-san."

The director then turned towards his companion. Tsuruga-san, Kyoko-san, I'd like to introduce you both to my daughter, Emiko. She is the one who insisted I make the drama in the first place."

Emiko stepped forward and bowed to both of them. A smile tugging at her mouth. "I am so excited to meet you both." She squeaked out, unable to control her excitement. "I just want to say I really loved the way you both portrayed the characters on screen. It was amazing!"

Kyoko and Ren both thanked her for the compliments before the director and his daughter stepped away.

"It's hard to believe she's only fifteen, isn't it?" Yashiro, who had just approached them again, commented.

Kyoko stared after Emiko, where she and her father were speaking with other guests. She had never guessed the girl to be three years younger than her. "But, she looks my age." She said in disbelief.

"Well, as we've seen before, a little make up and a dress can change one's appearance quite a bit." Ren said with a wink.

The evening went on and speeches were made by the director and producers. Eventually, everybody continued to mingle while drinks were served. Kyoko spotted Emiko again and was just about to head over to talk with her some more when she saw Suoh approach the younger girl.

Ren returned to Kyoko with two drinks and handed hers to her. "Are you okay?" he asked, noticing the change in her mood.

She nodded towards where Suoh and Emiko stood, obviously flirting with each other. "Why is he hitting on a teenage girl?" she asked.

Ren shook his head. "Apparently, he can't help himself when he sees a pretty girl."

"Somebody should stop him." Kyoko muttered, feeling a bit sick when she saw Suoh reach out and stroke Emiko's hair.

"Oh, I think somebody is about to." Ren replied.

That was when Kyoko spotted a very red-faced director marching towards his daughter. She couldn't hear what was said in the harsh whisper of the director but it could be assumed he was scolding his star for flirting with a minor.

When Suoh looked unapologetic, an intimidating security guard in a suit approached and escorted him from the party.

Kyoko felt grateful immediately. "Well, I'm glad that someone stopped him. Since we already know he doesn't understand not to cross lines. It's just too bad there was no press around to see it happen."

"How much of that did you get, Yashiro?" Ren asked his manager in an amused voice.

Kyoko looked to where Yashiro had suddenly appeared. In a gloved hand he was holding a cell phone. A mischievous grin played on his face. "Everything from after the director marched over to Suoh being escorted from the party." He slipped his phone back into his pocket and removed the glove. "I'm sure plenty of TV gossips will want to analyze footage of a top star being kicked out of his own wrap party." He winked at Kyoko.

Kyoko smiled. For the first time since getting engaged, it felt like things were working in her favor again.

After the party, Ren dropped Yashiro off at home before driving him and Kyoko towards their own apartment. When he parked in the parking garage, Kyoko reached out a hand to stop him from climbing out of the car.

He looked at her curiously. "What is it?" he asked.

Kyoko looked into his eyes for a moment before staring down at her hands. "I just… I was thinking. Maybe it's time that we," she paused to take a shaky breath. "Maybe it's time that we should set a date for the wedding."

Ren was silent long enough to make Kyoko worry. And when she looked up she was greeted with a childlike grin that had spread across Ren's face. He pulled her face towards his as he leaned in and kissed her.

After several kisses, Ren leaned his forehead against Kyoko's and stared into her eyes.

"Kyoko, I cannot wait until I get to have you as my wife."

A couple of days later found the young couple seated in their living room along with their trusted manager. Yashiro had two schedule books spread out on the coffee table along with several highlighters and pens. He had been thrilled when presented with the challenge of helping them to pick a date for their wedding. Now the tricky part was to find a date when both of them would be available and able to take off not just the few days for the wedding but also the following two weeks for their honeymoon.

"Isn't two weeks a bit too long?" Kyoko interjected when Ren explained the time to Yashiro.

Ren looked at her reproachfully. "Kyoko, when was the last time either of us took off any time?"

She struggled to think of a time but couldn't find one. "I guess we haven't." She admitted.

He nodded, "Which means we are definitely entitled to a couple of weeks vacation." He turned to his manager. "Right, Yashiro?"

Yashiro looked up in surprise. "Of course, Ren." He answered sincerely. "The only thing is finding two and a half consecutive weeks that we can open up in both of your schedules."

"Well, it has to be after September at least." Kyoko commented, "Otherwise there wouldn't be any time for planning."

"And we can't have it in December, or February because of our birthdays." Ren replied thoughtfully. "And March is when you graduate so that's out."

"What about November?" Yashiro asked. "Since the drama you're starring in was pushed back to January, it cleared up some of your schedule. And I'm sure I could move your other appointments around." He said addressing Ren. Then he looked through the pink planner in front of him. "And Kyoko-chan, your movie doesn't start filming until December."

"We don't even know if I have the role yet." Kyoko interjected.

Yashiro waved off her comment. "I'm sure that we could manage to get a couple of weeks if we had the wedding November 5th." He looked back and forth between the two. "So, what do you think?"

Ren looked at Kyoko. "Do you think we can plan our wedding in four months?" he asked, gently taking her hand in his own.

Kyoko stared down at their hands. She felt the warmth from her fiancée's hand soak into her skin and warm her heart.

"I think," she paused and looked up into his dark eyes. "If it's together, we can do it."

* * *

 **A/N: And that is the end of Stand By You! Thank you for sticking with it and giving me plenty of feedback. I am so happy to have completed another part of my series. Next up is the wedding! I am posting the prologue right now. It is titled "In Your Arms I'll Stay"**

 **See you there!**


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